Month: July 2020

Donald Trump Declares His Fascist Desires To Delay Presidential Election, Rejected Unanimously By Congress And Scholars

Ronald 20 Comments

President Donald Trump is not hiding his dictatorial desires, having declared on Twitter yesterday his wish to delay or cancel the Presidential Election of 2020 until the legitimacy of the election can be insured.

That makes it very clear that Trump is a Fascist, trying to stay in office without accountability and responsibility for his multitude of crimes against his oath of office.

Trump was trying to take attention away from the escalation of the CoronaVirus Pandemic to all time highs in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, and the growing number of cases erupting in the Midwest.

Trump is also trying to make us forget that the Gross Domestic Product dropped a shocking 33 percent in the second quarter of April, May and June 2020, the all time record since statistics were kept starting in 1947, after World War II. Five years of growth were wiped out all at once!

All this plus the illegal, unconstitutional sending of unidentified military forces to Portland, Seattle and threats to other Democratic run cities, over the fake threat to federal buildings conjured up by Trump. Who are the threats he suggests? Retired military veterans, housewives, and other decent Americans are taking a stand against racism and for freedom of assembly, while the unwanted and unconstitutional forces are provoking violence and detaining people, shoving them in cars, in a manner reminiscent of Nazi Storm Troopers!

For the first time, however, Republicans in Congress rebuked Trump on the idea of delaying or suspending the elections. This included Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, as well as many others in a party that until now has bowed down to every whim of Donald Trump!

Trump’s suggestion that the results of the election might take months or years is truly delusional, as he forgets that Inauguration Day is 78 days after Election Day, and that the Electoral College meets in December.

It took 36 days in 2000 to resolve the winner in that election, and even in 1876-1877, while it took four months to decide the winner, it occurred with two days to go until the inauguration on the then later date of March 4!

The reason why Trump is acting hysterically is his realization that he will be indicted by a New York grand jury, which cannot be stopped by a Presidential pardon, and will, most likely, go to federal prison, where he belongs, along with a a whole group of family members and many major figures in his administration.

It is only Donald Trump who thinks there will be a “rigged” election, as he well knows that his election in 2016 was “rigged” by Russian collusion, pointed out in the report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2019, but covered up by Attorney General William Barr, who will also end up in prison as the worst, most corrupt Attorney General in American history!

Absentee and mail balloting will go forth in this upcoming election, and the issue of corruption is a “red herring”, and Americans will have the right in much of the nation to vote, and not endanger their lives in this pandemic to do so!

Many major conservative groups, such as the Federalist Society, denounced Trump for the suggestion of delaying the election, and said he was acting like a Fascist, and should resign.

So finally, Republicans and conservatives are rising up against Trump!

The 10 Worst Republican House Members In The 116th Congress

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There are a total of 198 Republican members of the House of Representatives, and it is nearly impossible to know all, or most of them, in detail as to their statements and actions.

Some, however, stand out, based on their public record and news coverage, as the absolute worst, most disgraceful Republican Congressmen and women.

So here goes a list of the ten worst Republican House members in the 116th Congress, with the most notorious mentioned as the last named.

Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx of North Carolina

Congressman at Large Greg Gianforte of Montana

Congressman Ken Buck of Colorado

Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida

Congressman Ted Yoho of Florida

Congressman Devin Nunes of California

Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio

Congressman Steve King of Iowa

Congressman Louie Gohmert of Texas

All of these ten members of the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives are outrageous in their behavior, but the last five are the most controversial, and display massive amounts of arrogance, racism, misogyny, nativism, and in the case of Gohmert, pure stupidity and embarrassment!

The ones that have the most influence in the party are Nunes and Jordan, both slavishly loyal to Donald Trump.

Notice that five of the ten are from the South; two from the Midwest; and three from Western states.

Three of this group of horrible members of the House of Representatives will not be in the 117th Congress:

Greg Gianforte is the Republican nominee for Governor of Montana, which he lost once before, in 2016. Let all decent people hope he loses again and is retired from any public office!

Ted Yoho is retiring after four terms in the House of Representatives. He used foul language against Congresswoman Andrea Ocasio-Cortez a week ago, and should be condemned formally in the House of Representatives for his horrible sexist behavior, unlikely to occur, but good riddance that he is leaving at the end of 2020!

Steve King lost the primary in Iowa to run for reelection. King is a clear racist, nativist, and constantly an embarrassment, and was stripped of his committee memberships by Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, which shows how extreme he has become. One can be sure that Republicans are not disturbed that he was repudiated finally by his Congressional district voters!

These three Congressmen will not be missed, but one can be sure there will be other Republican Congressmen who are a disgrace to their party, who will join this list!

Finally, Louie Gohmert has become a controversy by arguing against wearing a mask, and now coming down with the Covid-19, and having expressed the belief that by wearing the mask now and then, that he might have caused himself to get the virus. He also has insisted that his staff stay in the office, endangering them and three interns. And he uses his office as his home, and now has been told he must find somewhere else to live and sleep. This man is someone who used to be an elected judge in Texas, and it makes one wonder how such a total embarrassment, disgrace, and moron as he is, ever made it to Congress!

When former Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was in Congress, Gohmert was often termed as the male Michele Bachmann!

It makes one wonder if those who vote characters like this into Congress have any brains in their head, not exactly a sign of the virtues of mass voting, sorry to say!

Chief Justice John Roberts Has Become The “Swing Vote” On The Supreme Court Since The Retirement Of Anthony Kennedy

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Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed in 2005, has become a major surprise on the Supreme Court, and is seen by many as the new, often reliable “swing vote” on the Court, enraging hard line conservatives.

He has become unpredictable after years of being seen as a solid conservative, and is evolving into the most important Chief Justice since Earl Warren retired a half century ago.

Roberts is now perceived as the new “Anthony Kennedy”, going with the liberal side of the Court about one third of the time, and staying with the conservative side two thirds of the time.

This does not please right wingers, who want a Court that is back to the Gilded Age in mentality.

Roberts saved Obama Care in 2012; and just this year backed off on conservative attempts to end abortion; to end DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals; and backed the rights of gays and lesbians in employment, all path breaking moments.

He also prevented a citizenship question from being added to the census, and backed New York City’s strict gun control laws. And just this week, he upheld Nevada’s restriction on church attendance in the midst of the CoronaVirus Pandemic.

Roberts also was critical of President Donald Trump’s statement last year about Justices being loyal to who appointed them, when he said that there are no Bush Justices, no Obama Justices, no Clinton Justices. And of course, he presided over the Trump impeachment trial professionally, but one can see he is no fan of Donald Trump in any sense.

It seems clear that Roberts is thinking of his and the Court’s reputation and legacy, as the Court is awfully close to the point where it would seem regressive for the 21st century, were Roberts to go full right wing.

So despite strong criticism from the Right, John Roberts has been a savior on the Court at times.

Most important is that Roberts, writing for the Court majority of 7-2 on two cases has made it clear that Trump is subject to the law regarding no immunity from state criminal investigation of his taxes and also from congressional subpoenas, a stunning series of development at the beginning of July. So the President is not above the law!

Let us cheer on Chief Justice John Roberts for maintaining the reputation of the Supreme Court as NOT overly ideological, to the detriment of Americans!

Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch A Surprise On The Supreme Court

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With the third term of Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court now complete, one must say that Gorsuch is quite a surprise in his decisions on the Court, startling many conservatives, and pleasing progressives.

It is clear that Gorsuch is, and will continue to be, unpredictable on the Court, and already, he joins Chief Justice John Roberts in siding with liberals on some cases before the Court.

He has already made observers compare him to former Justice Byron White, and even by some to former Justice David Souter.

This means that the idea that are five rigid conservatives on the Court now looks more like four liberals, three conservatives, and some of the time two “swing” Justices, mostly conservative but totally unpredictable, and therefore, not reliable all of the time for the conservative camp.

It was wonderful to see Gorsuch side with native Americans in declaring that eastern Oklahoma is native American territory, although it is not clear what that means in reality to Oklahoma’s future.

His backing of gays and lesbians having employment rights guaranteed under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, may be one of the most important cases in many years.

The at times unpredictability of both Gorsuch and Roberts makes following the Supreme Court much more fascinating, for sure!

Time For Mitch McConnell To Be Retired: A Detrimental Effect On The US Senate And The Nation

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has been a disgraceful, reprehensible leader in the US Senate, and is coming up for reelection to what would be a seventh six year term in office, if he wins in November.

He will be 79 in February, meaning he would be in the Senate until age 85, a good argument for retiring him, but far from the best.

He is the longest serving Senate Republican leader in American history, and longest serving US Senator in Kentucky history. He has been Senate Republican leader for 14 years, the first eight as Minority Leader, and the last six as Majority Leader.

Starting off in the Senate as a pragmatist and comparative moderate, he has become a Far Right leader, undermining President Barack Obama at every imaginable turn, including denying him the Supreme Court appointment of Merrick Garland in 2016, on no legal or constitutional grounds.

He led the fight to undermine campaign finance reform, and his wife, Elaine Chao, has been involved in a conflict of interest in being Secretary of Transportation under President Donald Trump, linking McConnell to Trump’s policies and approach to power, with only an occasional effort to separate himself from Trump.

McConnell worked to undermine health care reform and banking reform under President Obama, and his goal, which failed, was to make Obama a one term President. McConnell has a tone of scandal and corruption constantly surrounding him, and has become very wealthy while in office through his connections with powerful financial interests.

Obstruction and constant use of the filibuster, as well as willingness to shut the government down numerous times and promote the US defaulting on its debt has been utilized regularly, creating a total confrontational attitude.

His major goal has been to fill the federal court system with extremist right wing conservatives, many who do not have adequate qualifications to have lifetime positions, and setting up future constitutional crises in the coming decades. He also has refused to promote election security for the upcoming Presidential election of 2020.

McConnell is an evil force, a nasty, hard line ideologue, and now faces a real challenge from the Democratic Senate nominee, as he has an extremely low public opinion rating in his home state of Kentucky. Amy McGrath has had a career as a Marine Fighter Pilot, and polls indicate a very close race, so let us hope McConnell is retired.

At the least, it seems likely if McConnell is reelected to a seventh term, that he might end up as Minority Leader, as expectations presently indicate the likelihood of a Democratic Senate after six years of Republican control.

Nancy Pelosi’s Likely Last Term As Speaker Of The House In 2021-2022

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is highly controversial, criticized by left wing progressives in her party, but even more vilified by the Republican opposition in the House and Republican Senators, and totally attacked by the right wing propaganda machine and President Donald Trump.

But it seems to this blogger and author that Nancy Pelosi will stand out in history as one of the most outstanding Speakers in American history.

She has guts, courage, stamina, and is not intimidated by powerful men, and that fact drives Donald Trump and his minions to the point of insanity!

Trump is clearly intimidated by Pelosi’s tough exterior and great bargaining powers.

Pelosi has been the leader of the Democratic Party in Congress for nearly a generation, being Minority Leader from 2003-2007, and again from 2011-2019, along with being Speaker of the House twice, from 2007-2011, and again from 2019 to the present. She has been a member of Congress from San Francisco since 1987.

Pelosi is now 80, and has agreed to leave the Speakership by the end of 2022, when she will be past 82 and a half in age.

There is a feeling of a need for new younger leadership, as the top three positions are held by three octogenarians–Pelosi; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who is presently 81, and has been in Congress since 1981, nearing 40 years; and James Clyburn of South Carolina, House Majority Whip , who is presently 80, and has been in Congress since 1993, nearly 28 years.

This team of Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn have been very successful, but it now seems likely that all three will run for their last term this fall, and leave by the end of 2022, hopefully while Joe Biden is President.

Who might replace them is not totally clear, but if one looks at lower ranking leadership right now in the House majority, it would seem as if such members of the House as the following might rise to the top leadership:

Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Democratic Caucus Chair

Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Democratic Caucus Vice Chair

David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Policy and Communications Committee Chair

Cheri Bustos of Illinois, Democratic Congressional Committee Chair

Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, Assistant Majority Whip

These five are much younger than the three top leaders, and all of them have come to Congress since 2011 or 2013.

This group includes two African American males, a gay male, and two women, and come from the Atlantic Coast area, the Midwest and the South. The two African Americans (Jeffries and Richmond) are in their late 40s, while the other three are in their late 50s.

There could be others rising that could challenge these five, but they would seem to have an upper hand right now, to succeed to higher positions in the House leadership!

Likely Republican Field For Presidential Race Of 2024 Very Large

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The Presidential Election of 2020 is upon us in 100 days, but, believe it or not, there are hints already of who might run for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024, whether or not Donald Trump wins reelection.

Likely, there might be someone not talked about yet, who emerges as a serious contender, who has served, or will serve, in the US Senate or a state Governorship.

So what is being discussed here is highly speculative, but let me make it clear: The field is wide open.

So here goes, a list of 17 potential contenders:

if Donald Trump loses election, he would be eligible to run again in 2024, and try to match Grover Cleveland in being President, losing, and then contending again.

Additionally, his son, Donald Jr., seems to have Presidential ambitions, although the level of his competence and intellect is highly doubtful.

Also, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, is also rumored to be thinking of running, but only if Donald Jr, steps aside, but everyone knows that the President favors his daughter over his other children.

Once we get past the Trump family, here is a list of 14 other potential contenders in no special order:

Vice President or former Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana

Former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida

Senator Rick Scott of Florida

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky

Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska

Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida

Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland

Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of Kansas

And we can finish with, believe it or not, Fox News Talk Show Host Tucker Carlson!

Donald Trump, The Fascist Wannabe: Attacking Conservative Support Of States Rights, And First Amendment Right To Freedom Of Speech And Assembly

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Donald Trump is demonstrating how he is a Fascist Wannabe, and in so doing, he is attacking conservatives who support states rights, and attacking all decent people who uphold the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Trump’s sending of military forces incognito to Portland, Oregon to use tear gas and rubber bullets against mostly peaceful demonstrators calling for change in race relations and for accountability of police, has not been called for by the Oregon state government or the Portland city government, but two night ago, even the Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was personally tear gassed by these unaccountable forces unleashed by Trump! And Trump ridiculed Wheeler on Twitter, making fun of him, after he was assaulted with tear gas!

There is no breakdown of law and order, and there is no right of the President to send in what is best described as storm troopers, without name plates or identifying, to detain people and kidnap them from the scene. The local police are in charge of anything that has to be dealt with, not a secret, unaccountable force authorized by Attorney General William Barr, who is the most abusive and corrupt leader of the Justice Department in its history!

Conservatives with principles are up in arms about the violation of states rights on this matter, and it reminds many of the Nazi storm troopers who abused people and brought about Nazi absolutism under Adolf Hitler. Conservatives, but also anyone interested in promoting freedom, are alarmed by this going on in not just Portland, but now the threat of it also showing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Seattle; Chicago; Detroit; Philadelphia; New York and other cities.

Republican groups, such as the Lincoln Project, are condemning what Trump is authorizing, as unlawful!

The job of keeping order is up to local and state authorities, and only when they call for federal intervention, does the US government have authority to intervene.

And the right of freedom of speech and assembly, and ability to call for redress of grievances in a peaceful manner, is inscribed in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

This alone, forgetting for the moment all of the other multitude of violations of law, would be enough to impeach and remove both Donald Trump and William Barr, for corruption and abuse of power in office!

The Department of Homeland Security and its subsidiary, Customs and Border Patrol, is breaking the Constitution, with the approval of Trump and Barr.

If this is not a move toward Fascism, then nothing is so!

Will America Tolerate 20 Million People Being Made Homeless? The Long Term Damage Of Such A Scenario!

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Starting in August and for many months, maybe years after, America is on the brink of having up to 20 million people being made homeless by the second Great Depression and CoronaVirus Pandemic, with Donald Trump and the Republican Party unconcerned about it.

The refusal of Republicans in the US Senate to take action on extending protection for people who cannot pay their mortgage or rent, since they have lost their jobs and income, is infuriating beyond belief.

The emotional damage being done to millions of children and their families will scar the future of America!

The nation cannot tolerate the long term damage of such a scenario, and crime and violence will escalate, and will likely lead to mass death all over the nation.

The only answer offered by Donald Trump is “law and order”, making many think police brutality will be encouraged more than ever, and now federal troops coming in to cities when the state and local governments have not authorized it will only lead to civil war in much of the nation.

It seems clear that only, hopefully, when the Democrats win the US Senate and keep the House of Representatives in November, and when Joe Biden takes the oath of office in January, will we start to react to the disaster perpetrated once again as in the late 1920s, by the Republicans and their President!

But Donald Trump and the Republicans of 2020 are much more evil and disgraceful than Herbert Hoover and the Republicans at the beginning of the Great Depression 90 years ago!

Is “White Flight” Against Republicans And Donald Trump Occurring In 2020?

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Based on recent polls that seem unbelievable, the idea of “White Flight” from Republicans might be happening.

This would be due to the CoronaVirus Pandemic, the collapse of the economy, but also due to the shock and outrage of many people toward Donald Trump, and his behavior in the Presidency these past three and a half years!

His incompetence and lack of compassion and empathy is making many white voters reconsider the upcoming elections.

So the number of states experiencing polls that show Republicans running behind for the Congress, as well as the President, are multiplying.

Many suburban women, college educated whites, independents, moderate Republicans, and all age groups among whites, except for seniors, are moving toward the possibility of voting for Democrats in Congress, and also for former Vice President Joe Biden.

There is still, theoretically, time for many of these people to reconsider their move away from Trump and the Republican Party, but since events are not going to get better anytime soon, and actually are worsening daily, that is highly unlikely.

So the situation looks as follows:

As indicated in earlier blog posts, the 20 states and Washington DC, which voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, seem securely in Joe Biden’s camp.

Add to this the six states that determined the election for Donald Trump in the Electoral College, all having voted for Barack Obama in 2012–Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida. As of now, the latter four seem clearly in Biden’s camp, and would insure a Democratic victory for the White House.

But Ohio and Iowa also show leanings toward Biden, and other states, thought to be “Red”, also are showing evidence of the same leanings, including North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, but also Kansas, Montana, Indiana and Missouri, and the 2nd district of Nebraska. This would mean 443 electoral votes to 95, as this author and blogger predicted on April 30.

So 34 states could go to Biden, and the Republican US Senators or open seats running in Maine, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, two in Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Kansas, and Montana are all in danger as well.

South Carolina and Kentucky seem hard to overcome on the Presidential level, but both Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell seem in a real tight race for their seats, and could lose.

If all of these Senate seats went Democratic, the party could control 12 more seats than they have now, with 59 maximum, or if the one endangered Democrat, Doug Jones in Alabama, lost, it would be 58 seats. If there is a “Blue Wave”, however, one would think Jones would survive his Senate race!

The way things are going, one could even imagine some of the 16 “certain” states for Trump voting against him by small margins, but enough to give the state to Joe Biden.

This would include Alaska, South Carolina, and Kentucky with a total of 20 electoral votes, so if the maximum imaginable occurred, the final electoral vote would be 37 states and 463 electoral votes to 75 for Trump!

And this would mean that Joe Biden would win by a likely ten point or more margin in the total popular vote!

One more time, in mid to late October, this author and blogger will make a final projection on the likely Senate and Presidential results!