Month: August 2024

Having Opposition Party In A President’s Administration A Tradition!

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It is quite common for a President of one party to select a leading figure of the other party to be part of his Administration.

The number of examples abound, as follows:

John F. Kennedy appointed Republicans including:

Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense
C. Douglas Dillon as Secretary of the Treasury
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr as Ambassador to South Vietnam

Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Republicans including:

John W. Gardner as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr as Ambassador to West Germany

Richard Nixon appointed Democrats including:

Sargent Shriver as Ambassador to France
John Connally as Secretary of the Treasury

Gerald Ford appointed Democrats including:

Daniel Patrick Moynihan as Ambassador to the United Nations

Jimmy Carter appointed Republicans including:

James Schlesinger as Secretary of Energy
William H. Webster as Director of the FBI

Ronald Reagan appointed Democrats including:

Mike Mansfield as Ambassador to Japan
Jeane Kirkpatrick as Ambassador to the United Nations
William Bennett as Secretary of Education

George H W Bush appointed Democrats including:

Robert Strauss as Ambassador to the Soviet Union/Russia

Bill Clinton appointed Republicans including:

William Cohen as Secretary of Defense

George W. Bush appointed Democrats including:

Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation

Barack Obama appointed Republicans including:

Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense
Jon Huntsman Jr. as Ambassador to China
Robert Mueller as Director of the FBI
Ray Lahood as Secretary of Transportation
Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense

Donald Trump appointed Democrats including:

Gary Cohn as Director of the National Economic Council

Joe Biden appointed Republicans, including:

Christopher Wray as Director of the FBI
Jerome Powell as Chairman of the Federal Reserve
Jeff Flake as Ambassador to Turkey
Meg Whitman as Ambassador to Kenya

Joint Harris-Walz CNN Interview A Homerun!

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The Harris-Walz CNN interview with Dana Bash last night gave the American people an understanding of the values and principles of the Democratic nominees.

Harris showed evolution on some of her views, from what they were in 2019, but there is nothing new or unusual about that, as all candidates for public office modify and grow from original ideas, as part of the adjustment to the reality of politics.

Both Harris and Walz came across as decent, humane, compassionate leaders, a far cry from the opposite reality of Donald Trump and JD Vance. One could call the interview “a homerun”!

There will be other interviews moving forward, and in 11 days, the Harris-Trump ABC News debate will take place, and the Vice Presidential debate of Walz and Vance will take place three weeks after the Presidential debate, on Tuesday, October 1, sponsored by CBS News.

Trump And Vance “Going Off The Rails”!

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The Republican Presidential campaign, running scared, as public opinion polls show a definite move in the direction of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, is going off the rails.

Trump is employing crude sexual innuendo language toward Harris on Truth Social.

Trump went to Arlington National Cemetery on the third year anniversary of the Afghanistan withdrawal, but inappropriately became engaged in a controversy about taking photographs to be used as campaign fodder,that was not allowable under cemetery rules.

Meanwhile, JD Vance said publicly that Kamala Harris should “go to hell”, when Harris was being criticized for something she did not say, and the idea of using such language in public is shocking!

Vance also continues to attack “Cat Ladies”, and to criticize Randy Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers for not having biological children of her own!

This crazy stuff could not be made made up in fiction, but it is reality in nonfiction!

Vance has a lower public opinion rating than Sarah Palin had at this point in 2008, and is a drag on the Republican ticket.

And Trump has again been indicted by Jack Smith, to modify charges after the Supreme Court decision on July 1 (Trump V US) that limited Trump to being indicted only on non Presidential actions, not official actions.

Tulsi Gabbard, Another True “Loser” Former Democrat, Backs Trump!

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This week has seen two former Democrats, who are true “losers”, come out and endorse Donald Trump, and are both part of his “transition team”, a fantasy that Donald Trump will be inaugurated the 47th President.

First, it was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has gone off the rails mentally, and has embarrassed his mother and siblings and other Kennedy family members, by his lunatic behavior in the past few years.

Now it is former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (2013-2021), who also was a Democratic Presidential contender in 2020, before leaving the party, becoming an independent, and tying her future to Donald Trump, despite the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection.

Gabbard clearly has “gone off the rails” like RFK Jr, a sad commentary on what had been a promising career.

Gabbard embraced the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad despite his brutal ten years and longer civil war and use of chemical weapons, and also has opposed support of Ukraine in its war against Russia, which invaded in February 2022.

She has conserted with conservative activists, including Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, and involved herself in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and has been on Fox News on a regular basis. She also, openly, campaigned to be Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate, an embarrassment to anyone paying attention to her antics.

Gabbard’s extreme isolationist stances are out of tune and common sense, as she shares the admiration of Donald Trump for Vladimir Putin, failing to see the threat of Russia to NATO if Ukraine’s government falls to Russian aggression!

RFK Jr.–A Disgrace To His Father’s Memory, And A Hypocrite To His Own Environmental Legacy!

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the namesake of his famous father, has become a disgrace to his revered father’s memory!

He has caused great distress in his own family circles, among his siblings, and even more so for his mother, Ethel Kennedy, age 96, who has been widowed for 56 years.

He has disgraced his own admirable environmental advocacy from decades ago, when he was distinguished as a reformer.

His own issues with drug addiction, alcoholism, and sexual escapades have doomed his earlier, admirable qualities.

His family’s connection and loyalty to Joe Biden has been besmirched by his reckless, preposterous campaign for President, which now has ended with an endorsement of Donald Trump, a man who shares in his corruption in so many ways, but is a repudiation of his long term reputation, now lying in tatters. And now, he claims he would be on the transition team for Donald Trump if he wins back the Presidency.

His three marriages, including his second wife committing suicide, considered provoked by RFK Jr’s mistreatment of her emotional problems, have also made one wonder about his sanity.

His present marriage, to actress Cheryl Hines, seems in danger too, as a result of his endorsement of Trump, and he is certainly the “dark sheep” of the family.

What, if any, effect RFK Jr. will have on the Presidential race is hard to fathom, but his support went down dramatically when Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and Kamala Harris replaced him as the Democratic Presidential nominee.

Joe Biden Record Exceptional On Environmental Issues!

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It is amazing how Republicans have bad mouthed Joe Biden’s record in office, lying constantly.

In so many areas, Joe Biden has been a true “star”, and one of those often ignored is his record on environmental issues.

Biden will rank among the top few Presidents on environmental matters.

Donald Trump has been the worst of all Presidents, surpassing Ronald Reagan, on the environment, and promotes the idea of more oil and coal exploration, no matter what its effect on the earth and its inhabitants.

Biden has had a great team to work on issues of climate change and global warming, including John Kerry (Special Envoy For Climate Change), Deb Haaland (Secretary of the Interior), Jennifer Granholm (Secretary of Energy), and Michael Regan ( Environmental Protection Agency Administrator).

Prospects For Democratic Congress Improve Due To Kamala Harris Candidacy

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The prospects for a Democratic controlled 119th Congress (2025-2027) have been vastly improved by the Presidential candidacy of Kamala Harris, and her Vice Presidential running mate Tim Walz.

Things looked gloomy before Joe Biden decided to withdraw, but now the excitement over Harris and Walz have boosted the hopes for Democrats to regain control of the House of Representatives, and maintain and maybe gain seats in the US Senate.

Public opinion polls show a boost in the candidacies of incumbent Democratic Senators all over the nation, and the prospects for gaining seats in the House in New York, Florida, and California seem promising.

And there are hopes that possibly three Republican Senators, who are not very popular, could lose their seats.

Rick Scott in Florida, Ted Cruz in Texas, and Josh Hawley in Missouri face tight races for now at least, from Debbie Mucarsel Powell, Collin Allred, and Lucas Kunce, respectively.

If at least one of these unpopular Senators were to lose, that would be a major boost for the Democrats.

An Amazing Month For Democrats And Kamala Harris!

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It has been an amazing month since President Joe Biden withdrew from the Presidential Election of 2024, and promoted Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Presidential candidate.

The result has been a massive number of Americans have signed up to back Harris with their volunteer time and funds.

A half billion dollars in campaign funding has resulted, an unprecedented amount in the history of campaign finance.

Harris and Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz have inspired millions of people, who had seemed ready to sit out the election.

Instead, they are excited about the potential for a real opportunity to reject Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who just sold his soul to Trump, dropping out of the race and besmirching the Kennedy name.

It seems clear at this point that large numbers of African Americans and Latino Americans, along with young Generation Z voters, and particularly women, are flocking to support of Harris and Walz.

The Presidential and Vice Presidential debates that are coming up will be crucial, with a great opportunity for both Harris and Walz to demonstrate their capacity to perform well against Trump and J D Vance.

Sense Of Optimism As Democratic National Convention Ends, With Exceptional Acceptance Speech Of Kamala Harris!

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There is a sense of optimism as the Democratic National Convention of 2024 adjourns.

After more inspiring speeches and presentations by a multitude of speakers on all kinds of issues that matter, Kamala Harris gave a memorable Acceptance Speech, making clear how “Presidential” she really is!

As Vice President, one never can easily make an impression that is noticed, and one can ask John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, and George H. W. Bush, the only other “sitting” Vice Presidents who had the success of being elevated to the office of President to follow their “boss” by election.

Harris’s 20 year public career which began as a masterful prosecutor in San Francisco and later as the Attorney General of the largest state in the Union, so arguably the second most powerful Attorney General after the US Attorney General in Washington, DC, makes her highly significant.

Then as a probing US Senator questioning Trump Administration figures such as Attorney Generals Jeff Session and William Barr, and Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, holding their “feet to the fire”, made her someone who clearly was principled to pursue justice and truth.

Harris has been underestimated, and also dismissed by misogynists who resent that a woman has the nerve to be aggressive in her pursuit of exposing evil in the criminal justice system and in American government.

Now that we see her out in the open, we are coming to realize how wonderful it was that Joe Biden selected her to be his “behind the scenes” Vice President, who gained lots of experience that we could not recognize openly, but now is ready to become President of the United States, and to bring Donald Trump to account in the 73 day campaign to follow until Election Day on November 5, 2024.

Harris and the Democratic Party have raised a half billion dollars in the past month; have had massive crowds everywhere that Harris and Tim Walz have appeared; and the momentum is on to bring about widespread Democratic victory all over the map in November!

If Kamala Harris Wins Presidency, She Would Be 16th Vice President To Become President!

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If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the Presidency in November 2024, she would become the 16th Vice President to succeed to the Presidency.

There have been 49 Vice Presidents, so only about 30 percent have made it to the White House.

Four, before Harris, have made it by election (Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, H W Bush); eight by death of the President; one by resignation (Ford); and two winning the Presidency later than the next term (Nixon and Biden)

The list includes:

John Adams after George Washington 1797–Election
Thomas Jefferson after John Adams 1801–Election
Martin Van Buren after Andrew Jackson 1837–Election
John Tyler after William Henry Harrison 1841–Death
Millard Fillmore after Zachary Taylor 1850–Death
Andrew Johnson after Abraham Lincoln 1865–Death
Chester Alan Arthur after James Garfield 1881–Death
Theodore Roosevelt after William McKinley 1901–Death
Calvin Coolidge after Warren G. Harding 1923–Death
Harry Truman after Franklin D. Roosevelt 1945–Death
Lyndon B. Johnson after John F. Kennedy 1963–Death
Richard Nixon 8 years after Dwight D. Eisenhower 1969
Gerald Ford after Richard Nixon 1974–Resignation
George H. W. Bush after Ronald Reagan 1989–Election
Joe Biden 4 years after Barack Obama 2021