25th Amendment

50th Anniversary Of Gerald Ford Becoming President

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In the midst of commemorations of the 50th Anniversary of the Richard Nixon resignation from the Presidency, not as much attention is devoted to the accession of Gerald Ford to the Presidency for the next two years, five months and 11 days, as the only President NOT elected President or Vice President.

Ford was approved to be Vice President under the recently enacted 25th Amendment to the Constitution, upon the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, arguably the most corrupt, scandalous, and obnoxious Vice President in the history of that office.

Agnew’s involvement in scandals, corruption, and in attacks on the news media and common decency, was horrifying, and it was a great sense of relief that he was forced out in October 1973.

The selection by the compromised President, Richard Nixon, at a time when the Watergate Scandal was metastasizing, was a relief as Ford, the House Minority Leader, was well respected and admired by members of the House of Representatives and the Senate in both political parties.

Ford conducted himself honorably as Vice President for about eight months from early December 1973 until his elevation to the Presidency on August 9, 1974.

And while Ford would lose election for a full term to Jimmy Carter in 1976, looking back on Ford, it seems clear that he has been underestimated in history, and deserves a better shake from the American people and Presidential scholars.

His wife, Betty Ford, was a major contributor to the history of First Ladies, often considered the “best” Republican First Lady of modern times.

While many would not agree with all of Gerald Ford’s views and stands on issues and policies, he comes across as the most decent Republican President in the past six decades!

43 Years Since Reagan Assassination Threat, And Dangers Ahead!

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It has been 43 years since the last direct threat against an American President.

Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981, and miraculously survived and recovered, although many observers think his later diagnosis of Alzheimers Disease may have been related to that shooting.

There have been threats against Presidents and other top government officials in the four decades since, thankfully without the kind of horrible experience that Reagan went through.

But the levels of verbal violence and threats has grown exponentially, and now Donald Trump has used violent rhetoric, incitig his supporters and threatening Joe Biden, federal judges, and others, claiming “freedom of speech”.

But “freedom of speech’ does have its limits, and there is a need to make that clear to Donald Trump and everyone else, on all sides of the political spectrum, that using incendiary rhetoric could lead to prosecution and imprisonment!

The fact that we have gone through the longest period of no turnover in the Presidency, and that the 25th Amendment has only been used twice, in 1973 and 1974, is a warning of the growing reality that the nation is likely to face growing odds of a transition that we have not faced in a half century since 1973-1974.

So the office of the Vice Presidency is more significant than ever, moving forward!

The End Of A Possible President Mike Pence!

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Ever since Mike Pence became Vice President on January 20, 2017, the possibility of his accession to the Presidency remained a looming possibility.

The unstable and negative behavior of Donald Trump made this blogger and author think Pence might succeed to the Presidency rapidly in the early months of the term.

The constant crises and two Trump impeachments also put Pence in line for the Presidency, under the 25th Amendment, or the forced removal or resignation of Donald Trump.

Mike Pence stood for the rule of law in his refusal to help Trump steal the Presidential Election of 2020 on January 6, 2021, and could have lost his life that day if the circumstances and threats of that dark day had turned out differently.

Pence stood for the Constitution, and that will be his historic significance.

But he also was too much willing to bend to Donald Trump otherwise, even though Trump was as different in a moral and ethical sense as anyone could be from the highly religious Mike Pence.

Pence had no chance to become President for the next election, and has decided to leave the race, and he will have little impact on the future of a party which has, in so many ways, abandoned its principles. The Republicans have gravitated toward a total political disaster by following in the lead of the disgraced, twice impeached, four times indicted, and totally immoral and unethical former President Donald Trump.

So Pence will be seen as part of a Republican Party that is now in the distant past, as the so called Reagan wing of the party’s history goes into the distance as a lost memory!

A Half Century Ago, The Nation Was Saved From Spiro Agnew!

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Exactly 50 years ago, the nation witnessed the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973, on charges of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud, which led to a pleading of no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion.

That moment, while maybe not reflected on then or since, in retrospect, was an absolute blessing for the nation, the Presidency, and American democracy!

Sprio Agnew was, arguably, the most dangerous and corrupt Vice President in American history, a man who worked to divide the nation and promote evil in a monstrous way, including attacks on news media, and being in general “an attack dog” for the corrupt intentions of President Richard Nixon.

Agnew employed racist language, reminiscent of later what Donald Trump would do, and forecast the right wing populism that would be used by Republicans in later decades.

Agnew attacked liberals and anti Vietnam War protestors, and was vicious in his rhetoric, reminding many of former Red Scare provocateur Senator Joseph McCarthy, and gained a reputation as “Nixon’s Nixon”!

Even now, a half century later, when this author and blogger gives lectures on Richard Nixon, and mentions Spiro Agnew’s name, it gets a negative reaction from audiences!

But what is often forgotten is IF Agnew had not been investigated and found to be corrupt, as well as his evil doings as Vice President, he would have succeeded Richard Nixon when he resigned 10 months later on August 9, 1974!

Instead, the nation was fortunate that there was a 25th Amendment, and that Gerald Ford became Vice President by nomination of Nixon and approval by both houses of Congress!

Gerald Ford proved to be a savior, being the right person at the time of the Watergate Scandal, to be the successor to a President seen as the most corrupt in American history, until the disgraced Presidency of Donald Trump surpassed Nixon in the level of venality! 🙁

Republican Hypocrisy As Usual, Now On Afghanistan!

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Republicans in Congress are utilizing hypocrisy, as usual, now on Afghanistan.

Donald Trump signed an agreement in late 2020, insuring the end of US involvement by May 1, 2021.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Taliban leadership, and signed the agreement.

Donald Trump spoke as late as late June to a crowd, bragging about the fact that he had arranged for the end of US involvement in Afghanistan.

But now, both Trump and Pompeo, and innumerable others in the Republican Party, are accusing Joe Biden of betrayal.

In late June, 56 percent of Republicans in public opinion polls endorsed getting out of Afghanistan, along with about 70 percent of Democrats and Independents.

Trump signed the agreement to withdraw, and Biden followed up on it, with a delay until August-September 2021.

Biden had been against staying in Afghanistan, while Vice President under Barack Obama, so it is a long standing viewpoint.

This does not mean that Joe Biden is not to be criticized for lack of timely planning to assure the safety and ability of Afghans and their family members who worked with the US military forces, and women who had seen great strides, but wanted to leave, also to be able to flee.

But when Florida Senator Rick Scott, a true scumbag, says the 25th Amendment should be used to remove Biden, one is tempted to say where were you when Donald Trump was demonstrating corruption and incompetence? Why did you NOT vote to convict Donald Trump on impeachment charges as a threat to American democracy?

The issue of Afghanistan is being used simply as a political tool by the conservative right wing, when they could not care less about Afghans who helped us, and Afghan women.

In fact, the Republican Party has no concern for women’s rights, in Afghanistan, or in America!

47th Anniversary Of Richard Nixon Resignation, And Gerald Ford Becoming The 38th President!

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Today, August 9, in 1974, the nation and the world witnessed Richard Nixon resigning the Presidency.

The event also elevated Gerald Ford to become the 38th President, and the only one NOT elected Vice President or President, due to the 25th Amendment, which saved the nation after Vice President Spiro Agnew had earlier resigned in October 1973, due to corruption charges.

If there were no 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, Speaker of the House Carl Albert, a Democrat, with no desire to be President, and having a well known liquor problem, would have been the successor to the Oval Office.

Certainly, Albert would have been preferable to Spiro Agnew.

But despite controversy over Ford pardoning Nixon on September 8, 1974, which was a major factor in his defeat to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 Presidential election, Ford has been perceived in recent decades as the “right” person in a time of turmoil.

One can criticize President Ford, but also, one can see that Ford calmed the nation and in many ways, has been perceived in a better light over the decades.

A Very Emotional Time With Many Thoughts Which Will Require Time To Process

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The last 48 hours have been the most emotional roller coaster imaginable!

It began with great excitement as Georgia saw the victory of both Democratic Senate candidates, the Reverent Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff, marking the first African American Senator from a Deep South state since Reconstruction, and the first Jewish Senator in the history of the state.

It also meant that the Democrats would control the US Senate under new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and that Joe Biden would be able to have more success with a Congress controlled by his party, even if paper thin control.

But then, we had the first attack on the US Capitol Building, the home of Congress, since the British attacked on August 24, 1814 during the War of 1812, and done by a right wing Fascist terrorist, insurrectionist group of Donald Trump supporters, and egged on by Trump himself, as well as his son, Donald Trump, Jr. and Rudy Giuliani, former NYC Mayor. These three men are guilty of treason and sedition and need to be held accountable!

The Capitol was defiled, and our national security was in danger, and it caused America to be ridiculed in the eyes of the world, which have seen America as the image of democracy being threatened by an egomaniac who wanted absolute power!

So even though at this writing, there are only 13 days to the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the push is on to impeach and remove the President, a second attempt, or to invoke the 25th Amendment, with great pressure being brought on Vice President Mike Pence by Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to prod the Trump Cabinet to join him in taking the Presidency away from Trump, and giving the authority for the remaining days of this term to Mike Pence.

There will be much need to process these events, as the nation and its future remain at risk, as this author and blogger publishes this entry!

Shocked And Stunned By Today’s Events, But Conclusion Is Donald Trump Needs To Be Removed NOW!

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The events of January 6, 2021 have shocked and stunned the nation and the world, and this author and blogger will comment on it once he has recovered from the emotional turmoil he experienced watching these events unfold!

But clearly, one conclusion is evident!

Donald Trump, the worst and most dangerous President in American history, MUST be removed NOW, not on Inauguration Day, two weeks from now!

He is a danger to American democracy, and to the national security of the United States!

So Vice President Mike Pence, who asserted himself today by calling in the National Guard to Washington, DC, over the objections of Donald Trump, must invoke the 25th Amendment, and serve as Acting President, taking away all authority from Donald Trump, and the Cabinet officers have a responsibility to work with Pence to put this into effect!

There is no time to waste, and the destiny of America puts the burden on Mike Pence!

Donald Trump Demonstrates Mental Instability And Lunacy, Presenting Issue Of 25th Amendment

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The mental health and condition of President Donald Trump is deteriorating rapidly, and he appears more than ever to be displaying mental instability and lunacy, which is bringing up the issue of the 25th Amendment possibly being considered for use.

Trump has been on Twitter during his COVID 19 illness, attacking his own cabinet members, including Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, along with FBI head Christopher Wray.

He is talking about arresting former President Barack Obama; his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, who is miles ahead of him in all polls; his former opponent, Hillary Clinton; Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who was the subject of a kidnap plot by right wing fanatics; and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who is calling for Congressional legislation on removal of the President as a threat to national security and safety.

He has also termed Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris as a Communist, endangering her life with extremists by labeling her with such a ridiculous label, reminiscent of former Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Communist “witch hunt” in the 1950s. This will increase the number of threats and dangers to Harris, as she runs for Vice President, and when she is Vice President, a heartbeat away from the Presidency. It will also affect her husband and his two children, who are Jewish. There is a tone of racism in the attack on Harris, as she is of mixed race, with a Jamaican father and Asian Indian mother, a tactic used by the right wing against former President Barack Obama, with his Kenyan African father and his white mother.

As we are down to 25 days until Election Day, and with Trump still apparently affected by powerful steroid drugs, the nation sits on the precipice of the danger of bloodshed and violence, and it seems necessary for powerful leaders in the government to take responsible action to protect the nation from such threat presented by the 45th President of the United States!

Donald Trump Is Committing Political Suicide Every Day, As Joe Biden Lead Grows Rapidly

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It is clear now that President Donald Trump is committing political suicide every day, as Joe Biden’s lead grows dramatically.

Biden’s lead had been about 6-8 points just a few weeks ago, but now it is as high as 14-16 points.

If that actually happened on November 3, and probably will not occur to that extent, Joe Biden would win in territory such as Ronald Reagan in 1984, or Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.

Trump has caused his own demise by his horrific debate performance; by his intention to destroy health care for 20 million people; by his inaction on COVID 19 all year; by his behavior when in Walter Reed Medical Center and then when he came back to the White House last night; and now rejecting any further negotiation on COVID 19 relief of tens of millions of Americans, including stimulus checks for the unemployed, help to small businesses, and aid to industries, such as airlines and restaurants, causing a downturn on the stock market today.

It is clear that Donald Trump is maniacal now on his medication, and is a danger to national security, and yet, Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet are unwilling to invoke the 25th Amendment, so the nation teeters and totters with no one in charge of the ship of state!