American Democracy

Back From Costa Rica Vacation, And Republican Party Continues To Self-Destruct!

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Having just returned from a Costa Rica vacation, I return to a nation embroiled in turmoil by the conviction of Donald Trump, and the Republican Party, with few exceptions, continuing to self destruct its history and legacy.

Costa Rica is a successful democracy, with people that are very happy, and committed to an environmental legacy, opportunity for all, and with a very high life longevity, a model nation which lowers blood pressure by its primary commitment to education and health care for all, and has no standing army, and the most successful long lasting democracy in Latin America.

America, on the other hand, is moving toward its 250th anniversary as a nation, divided by greed, corruption, and many evil leaders who only care about their own aggrandizement, and promotion of the undermining of American democracy and the rule of law.

America is in its greatest crisis since the Civil War in the 1860s, and no certainty of its survival as a beacon for the world!

“Originalism” And “Textualism”: The Battle For The Future Of Constitutional Government Against The Late 18th Century!

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The battle over how to interpret the Constitution in the 21st century is in full swing, with the extremist right wing Supreme Court majority emphasizing “Originalism” and “Textualism” as their basic ideological doctrine!

They want America to be judged by late 18th century interpretations, which means they challenge Alexander Hamilton and his “broad” interpretation of the Constitution.

Hamilton emphasized a broad interpretation, not a strict interpretation, of the Constitution, saying it needed to be a living document.

Even Thomas Jefferson, the original ideological opponent of Hamilton, came to recognize that Hamilton was correct, and so backed away from his original strict intepretation to support the Louisiana Purchase deal with France in 1803, doubling US territory and insuring that no other foreign power would gain further control in North America.

If one is to judge the Constitution by “originalism” and “textualism”, then America should not have had the multitude of changes that has made America a democracy, including among others:

Creation of Cabinet Agencies
End of African American Slavery by Amendment 13
Civil Rights Laws And Amendments (14, 15)
Women’s Suffrage (19)
Federal Government Agencies and Regulations
Federal Income Tax Amendment (16)
Democratizing of the US Senate by Amendment 17
Limitation of Presidential Terms by Amendment 22

This battle is over the future as compared to the limitations of the past, and America has come too far to allow the right wing interpretation to dictate the future of the nation!

FDR Death, And Harry Truman Succession To The Presidency Commemorated!

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Sixty nine years ago, in the midst of late stages of World War II, the longest serving American President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed away at the age of 63 in Warm Springs, Georgia.

The impact of FDR in his years in office, and the continued significance of his policies and actions, reverberates in America seven decades later, and he is usually ranked second or third among all Presidents in polls and surveys of Presidential scholars.

Serving more than 12 years and starting a fourth term in office, he had a far greater impact in many ways than Abraham Lincoln, who is usually ranked as the greatest American President.

FDR’s “New Deal” still affects America, and his leadership in World War II was crucial for the survival of democracy in the nation and the world.

The death of FDR also led to the Presidency of Harry Truman, tremendously underrated throughout his Presidency and for a generation after his retirement.

But once Truman passed away, recognition of his courageous, principled leadership emerged, and now he is ranked in the top five or six of all Presidents!

His continuation and expansion of the New Deal through the Fair Deal, and his strong leadership in the emerging Cold War made his Presidency extremely significant!

A Magnificent, Fiery, Combative Speech As Joe Biden Begins The Fight Against Donald Trump And Maga Republicans!

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Last night’s State Of The Union Address by Joe Biden was a magnificant, fiery, combative speech as Joe Biden begins the fight against Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans!

Anyone watching who is objective must admit that Joe Biden did a “tour de force”, and showed vigor and energy for a man who is 81 years old!

Biden has demonstrated perfect capability and knowledge to lead our nation in a difficult national and international climate, but also to care about and promote what is good for the vast number of Americans, not just the wealthy!

It was unbelievable how Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who did NOT do the usual introduction of the President, was constantly frowning and rolling his eyes, to the point that he looked totally ridiculous. Johnson refused to applaud on almost every issue, because he is the captive, as are 95 percent of Republicans in Congress, to the evil Donald Trump!

It was sad seeing conservative Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a cosponsor of an immigration bill approved by the Chambers of Commerce and the Wall Street Journal, but rejected by House Republicans, mouthing his agreement with President Biden on the value of the proposed legislation.

It was disgraceful how Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene yelled and gestured in a disgusting manner, showing total lack of respect for the President.

The Republicans in the House chamber just sat on their hands, but knowing Joe Biden has become like Harry Truman in 1948, ready and willing to “Give Them Hell” over the next eight months!

Decency and compassion and vision and competence will ultimately win out over the evil and threat to the Constitution and rule of law represented by Donald Trump.

And anyone who chooses to vote for a third party, and most particularly the embarrassing and unstable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, who is no match for his father or the family name, is undermining the struggle to sustain American democracy.

And if by some fluke, Trump wins and establishes a dictatorship, such voters will go to their graves knowing they contributed to the destruction of the American nation as we have known it!

Age Issue Is Neutralized: Competence And Decency Will Decide Election In November!

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For the next nine months, we will hear constantly that Joe Biden is too old and feeble to be President for another four years.

This is really a non-issue as his opponent, Donald Trump would be in his 80s during the next four years, so the age issue is really neutralized.

If Biden was facing a much younger Republican opponent, then age would be an issue, but if that was happening, even Biden has said he would not be running, and is doing so only to stop the threat of Donald Trump returning to the White House.

Joe Biden was driven to run in 2020 due to the horrible reality of Donald Trump, thinking he was the only potential opponent who could defeat Trump, which he did handily by more than 7.1 million votes, a massive victory.

Biden’s competence, decency, and record in office have been so noticeable, that despite horrible attacks from MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump, and despite polls that are so often inaccurate so far out from an election, the odds of his reelection are very likely.

Biden has presided over an economy that is outstanding; has the respect and support of NATO leaders who fear Donald Trump; and has the vision that would move America and its relationship with the world forward.

Fear that he might not finish a second term is also the issue of Donald Trump, since arguably, Trump is in far worse physical and cognitive shape than is Joe Biden.

So the Vice Presidency is crucial, and while many would be not happy at the thought of Kamala Harris, when considers the likely alternative list being bandied about of possible Trump Vice Presidential running mates, there is no comparison!

Would Marjorie Taylor Greene, Elise Stefanik, Kari Lake, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kristi Noem, Vivik Ramaswamy, Tim Scott or other sycophants be better than Kamala Harris?

Only in the delustional minds of MAGA Republicans, who care not a whit about American democracy, the rule of law, and the Constitution!

The Rewriting Of History: Denials Of January 6 Insurrection!

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It is shocking that as the third anniversary of the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection is commemorated tomorrow, that about a third of Americans, in a public opinion poll, and a majority of Republicans, have rewritten history, and deny the horrendous events of that day.

Despite all of the videos and other evidence of reality, instead these delusional Americans choose to believe the most massive liar of all time, Donald Trump, and to see the 1,200 people who have been held accountable as “hostages”, and that the FBI set up the false uprising!

Donald Trump says again and again that he is out to promote a dictatorship if he is reelected, and still, public opinion polls show a close race between him and President Joe Biden.

The future of American democracy is under dire threat, and yet, Donald Trump has convinced so called intelligent people that he has been wronged, not the nation by what has transpired.

Conspiracy theories abound, and undermine the stability of American government.

2024 Presidential Election Crucial As Were 1864 And 1964 Elections, And They Were Election Landslides!

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One could argue that every Presidential Election is significant in some shape or form, but certain elections stand out as turning points in the promotion of American democracy.

Such are the Presidential Elections of 1864 and 1964, and now moving forward, 2024!

In all three, the sustaining of American democracy was crucial, and in the first two cases, the results, after much concern, were massive landslides, hopefully setting the scene for 2024!

In 1864, Republican Abraham Lincoln was running for reelection in the midst of the American Civil War, with his opponent being General George McClellan, who was resentful of his firing for poor performance from Union Army leadership, and represented to many the Confederate hope of pulling out victory late in the Civil War.

Lincoln was so concerned that victory was unattainable, that he decided to replace Vice President Hannibal Hamlin with a Southern Loyalist Democrat Andrew Johnson, and the Republicans invited War Democrats into the party by changing their name to the National Union Party.

The end result was a landslide with Lincoln winning all but three states, winning 55 percent of the vote, and an Electoral College majority of 212-21!

A century later, President Lyndon B. Johnson, having succeeded to the Presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy less than a year earlier, faced the most right wing Republican contender for the Presidency in modern times, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who advocated ending the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, including Social Security, and also opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Johnson went on to a landslide victory, winning 61.1 percent of the popular vote, the all time high, and 44 of 50 states and 486-52 in the Electoral College, but with five Southern states going to Goldwater, the beginning of the political realignment that has made the South solidly Republican ever since, with only a few exceptions when Democrats nominated Southerners for the Presidency, including Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

Johnson went on to promote the Great Society, a massive increase in government programs, way beyond the New Deal of FDR.

Now in 2024, with the Republican Party being the most extreme right wing since Goldwater, and arguably more so, Joe Biden faces a challenge not only on a personal level, but also on overcoming the menace of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, who have repudiated the original basis of the Republican Party’s founding, opposing slavery and its expansion, and instead promoting racism and nativism 170 years after the origins of the party in Michigan and Wisconsin in 1854!

161st Anniversary Of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation!

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Today, New Year’s Day 2024, marks the 161st Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, a bold move that his own Presidential Cabinet thought was inadvisable.

While it only ended slavery at the time in areas under Union Army occupation during the Civil War, it was a pledge that the eventual victory of the United States over the Confederate States of America, when and if it occurred, another 27.5 months into the future, would see the concept of the ownership of human beings by other human beings would come to an end.

It must be pointed out, however, that the Emancipation Proclamation alone could not end slavery, as it was written into the US Constitution by the Founding Fathers at the Philadelphia convention of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

Only the battle to add the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 could end slavery long term, and set America up as a promoter of democracy.

Now, sadly, we see the party of Lincoln moving backward on the principle of promoting racial equality, and appealing to the ugliness of racism and nativism, as it enters an election year seemingly captive to the most dangerous man ever to hold the Presidency, Donald Trump!

2024 must see the end of the menace of Donald Trump by a total commitment to defeat his attempt at a comeback, and move away from the dangers of MAGA Republicans!

Amazing Biden Economy, But Polls Indicate Lack Of Reality Of Voters

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As 2023 ends, the American economy is doing great in so many ways.

An all time high on the stock market.

Unemployment rate lowest in more than 50 years.

Gas prices down to $3.00 a gallon.

Inflation Rate after the effect of COVID 19 coming down to about 3 percent from a 9 percent high.

Despite all of this, there is ignorance and refusal to accept reality on the part of those who are polled about their thoughts about the economy.

So Joe Biden is once again being misjudged and ignored on his many accomplishments, including also being the most pro labor President in decades!

By all rights, Joe Biden should sail to reelection, but the disease and sickness of MAGA Republicans makes it a struggle, along with the crazy, lunatic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. exploiting his famous father’s name and besmirching the Kennedy family legacy with his forlorn campaign for President with no redeeming qualities!

So Democrats must work hard every day for the next ten months to insure the continuation of American democracy!

Top Five Political Heroes Of The Year 2023

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In a year with so many politically difficult moments, certain situations stand out as bright moments.

Liz Cheney, the former Republican Congresswoman from Wyoming, stayed strong and continued to fight against the cancer represented by Donald Trump, holding to the traditions and beliefs of a Republican Party that once believed in principle, but no longer exists, ready to sell its soul to a charlatan who is destroying its history and traditions.

Adam Kinzinger, the former Republican Congressman from Illinois, has also, like Cheney, been a Profile in Courage, who has refused to bend to the intolerance and authoritarian nature of a party which has left him, and Cheney, rather than the other way around.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has proved to be an exceptional potential Speaker of the House in 2025, as he has kept the Democratic minority united and strong against the degradation of the small majority Republicans in the House of Representatives. His leadership contrasts with the disgraceful, extremist oriented leadership of Kevin McCarthy, but even more so, Mike Johnson, a true religious extremist and moral hypocrite, who is sadly only two heartbeats away from the Presidency in his role as Speaker of the House.

President Joe Biden has shown great principle, courage, and decisiveness in a multitude of domestic and foreign crises, too often underrated and unappreciated for his strong stand for basic principles, including promotion of democracy, common decency, empathy, compassion, and the rule of law. He is presiding over the greatest crisis to our Constitution since the Civil War, but something that will only be fully understood in the future.

And finally, above all else, the survival of American Democracy itself, with the support of Democrats, courageous Republicans, the courts, the responsible news media, and decent citizens who value our heritage of nearly 250 years of constitutional government, is the ultimate “HERO” in this nation!

Resistance to authoritarian Fascism in all its forms is a constant, long term battle, and the final defeat, conviction, and imprisonment of the evil Donald Trump is the battle ahead, and with the understanding, that MAGA Trumpism will continue to be a threat, that all decent people will need to continue to resist beyond the time of Donald Trump!