California

Andrew Cuomo A Model Of A Crisis Leader, Compared To Our Out Of Touch Leader, Donald Trump

Ronald 8 Comments

In the midst of this CoronaVirus Crisis, as we have President Donald Trump displaying total lack of compassion, empathy, or concern with his pitiful leadership in handling the pandemic, we are seeing Profiles in Courage by state and local leaders who are proving how decent and impressive they are in stepping up to fill the void, at least partially.

Special plaudits are given to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who one could wish could step into the role of President, a position he chose not to compete for in the present Presidential Election of 2020 competition.

This author and blogger has to admit that he had never been very impressed with Andrew Cuomo, who he thought was not impressive at all in his role as NY Governor, and certainly nothing like his wonderful father, the late former NY Governor Mario Cuomo.

But now, Andrew Cuomo has proved me wrong, and I salute him for his gutsy and courageous leadership in a time when New York State and New York City have become one of the epicenters of the spreading of the virus, along with California and Washington State.

Will South Carolina Be Joe Biden’s Last Hurrah?

Ronald 2 Comments

Indications are, based on recent public opinion polls, that former Vice President Joe Biden is likely to win the South Carolina Presidential Primary this Saturday, by a substantial margin.

The endorsement by African American Congressman and House Majority Whip James Clyburn of Biden is a real boost to Biden’s candidacy.

But the question is whether the upcoming vote is the last Hurrah for Biden, as he lacks adequate financial resources, and is not showing up well in Super Tuesday primaries next Tuesday, when 14 states, including California, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Colorado as the most significant states, conduct their elections. Senator Bernie Sanders is favored to win most of those primaries.

Winning South Carolina might help, but it is only three days to those Super Tuesday primaries, so if Biden does poorly on Tuesday, March 3, it likely will be the end of his dream of becoming the 46th President of the United States!

Is Bernie Sanders An Unstoppable Juggernaut? Not So Fast!

Ronald 14 Comments

Senator Bernie Sanders’ impressive win in Nevada is a warning sign to many mainstream Democrats that he is unstoppable.

Not so fast, as one cannot judge the battle for the Democratic Presidential nomination based on three small states.

Super Tuesday will be the decisive moment, if any candidate can win the vast number of delegates from the 14 states having primaries on that date, including California, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Massachusetts.

After Nevada, however, the candidates that still have a chance to stop Bernie are likely Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden, with the bet being that Pete is more likely.

The debate on CBS this coming Tuesday, followed by the South Carolina Primary on Saturday, will be the stepping stone for Tuesday, March 3!

The Caucus-Primary System In The Future Needs To Be Reformed

Ronald 18 Comments

The Caucus-Primary system for Presidential elections needs to be reformed, as it is clear that having Iowa and New Hampshire go first, with both being totally lacking in diversity, is not a system for the long term.

The argument could be that California and Texas should go first, as they are very diverse and together have about 20 percent of the national population.

Add states such as Wisconsin and Virginia, and that would be a good start toward a system that would be much more amenable to the promotion of racial and ethnic diversity in a nation that will be majority non white in a generation. Therefore, it would be more reflective of reality, and allow minority candidates a better chance to survival in the process.

It is sad that Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, and Cory Booker have been forced out of the Presidential race for the Democrats, due to lack of financial support. Hopefully, the future can be different.

Major Changes In Electoral College Coming After Census Figures In 2020, And Reapportionment Of Seats In House Of Representatives In 2022 And After

Ronald 1 Comment

The Electoral College and Congressional Representation in the House of Representatives will change dramatically, after the Census of 2020 leads to seven states gaining electoral votes and Congressional seats, while ten states will lose electoral votes and Congressional seats starting in 2022 for the lower house of Congress, and for the Electoral College in 2024 and 2028.

The big winners will be Texas and Florida, gaining 3 and 2 seats and 3 and 2 electoral votes. Also gaining one seat and one electoral vote will be Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Montana, and North Carolina.

The ten states that will lose one seat each and one electoral vote are:

California (first time ever)

New York

Pennsylvania

Illinois

Ohio

Michigan

Minnesota

Rhode Island

West Virginia

Alabama

Rhode Island will now only have a Representative at Large, and Montana, which had gone in recent decades from one to two to one member of the House will again have 2 seats in the lower chamber of Congress.

The “Rust Belt” continues to lose in the Northeast and Midwest, while the South and the West, generally called the “Sun Belt”, continues to gain seats and power, although California losing is a surprise. They will still have 52 (instead of 53) House seats and 54 (instead of 55) electoral votes in the 2020s.

New York has lost for seven decades in House seats and electoral votes, from a high of 45 and 47 in the 1930s and 1940s to 26 and 28 in the 2020s. while Florida in the same period has grown from 8 and 10 in the 1950s to 29 and 31 in the 2020s!

Adam Schiff Should Be Acknowledged As Champion For Upholding Of Constitution And Rule Of Law!

Ronald 4 Comments

California Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, should be acknowledged as a champion for upholding the Constitution and rule of law. He also will be praised for not allowing fellow Congressman and Californian Devin Nunes, the Republican ranking member, from intimidating him in his work toward impeachment of Donald Trump.

Schiff will be long regarded in history for his courage, his principles, his dignity, and his steadfastness, in his pursuit of the truth about our 45th President.

When the time comes for Senator Dianne Feinstein to leave the Senate, Schiff would be an excellent replacement for her.

Is Kamala Harris Indeed “The Female Barack Obama”? The Hype Seems Not To Be Happening For 2020

Ronald 19 Comments

California Senator Kamala Harris seemed to be on the road to becoming “The Female Barack Obama”, a person of mixed race, attractive appearance, and the potential to be the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2020.

But, surprisingly, Harris has languished in the background, seemingly faltering, while Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, has surged to number four among Democratic candidates, replacing Harris.

While it is too early to write Harris off, the feeling is developing that she will not win any early state in February, and might have trouble even in California on Super Tuesday, by the power of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg.

In theory, Harris could be a Vice Presidential running mate, but more likely, she will simply have a long career in the US Senate, and maybe pursue the Presidency in a later time in the mid to late 2020s.

Donald Trump Comparing Impeachment Probe To Lynching Is Totally Disgraceful And Reprehensible!

Ronald 21 Comments

Donald Trump has the gall to compare the impeachment probe going on in the House of Representatives to a lynching, demonstrating his total lack of the history of lynching, and his lack of concern for the racism that he continues to display incessantly!

Lynching went on for a century after the Civil War and reached its peak in the post World War I years, with thousands of African Americans, and some Hispanics, Jews, and Catholics also being tortured and murdered and set on fire in a brutal fashion, that was long covered up.

But now there is a Lynching Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, called the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum, and there are other Civil Rights Museums that demonstrate through horrible photographs and contemporary accounts the obscene abuse and lack of concern for human life in the American South and much of the Midwest and even California, as well, where African Americans were seen as less than human.

The photos are hard to look at, and the realization that children and large crowds often witnessed these miscarriages of justice, cheered it on, and took human flesh as souvenirs of the “sporting event” they had just participated in or lost all sense of morality, ethics and religiosity by not caring about the suffering of thousands of mostly men, but also some women.

Donald Trump comes across more every day as a totally obscene, disgraceful excuse for a human being, who has no concern about the human suffering that goes on around him in America and in the world at large.

If there was ever a President as deserving of impeachment, conviction, and imprisonment for the crimes he has conducted or endorsed by his incendiary, reckless rhetoric, it is Donald Trump, as no one else, not even Richard Nixon was anywhere near as evil as the 45th President of the United States!

And for Senator Lindsey Graham to defend Trump’s comment is beyond belief, and John McCain would be furious at his former friend for defending Trump!

Latinos Future Democratic Base In Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas

Ronald 3 Comments

Donald Trump’s “war” on people of Hispanic ancestry is guaranteeing that the vast majority of Latinos in the future will be supporters of the Democratic Party long term, as they are in California.

When California Governor Pete Wilson promoted Proposition 187 to deny undocumented immigrants basic public services in the state, it backfired on him and the Republican Party, which had been dominant in the state for a few decades, including Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan as Californians who became President.

Proposition 187 was overturned in the courts, but it made the Republican Party the loser, as they rapidly lost any influence over the state, and the number of California Republicans in Congress dwindled down to seven in 2018, after years of great decline.

The same is about to happen in other states with large Latino population, including Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and ultimately, Texas.

And as this begins to happen, some of it in 2020, and more by 2024 and after, it will insure Democratic Congresses in the future, as congressional seats in those states start to fall into the hands of the Democrats.

And the Electoral College will bring a bright future as these four states turn blue, and particularly when Texas does so in the next decade.

So the day of GOP dominance with gerrymandering and voter suppression will come to an end, but the Democrats will have a massive job undoing the damage left by Donald Trump and his party.

The Third Of The Month A Crucial Day–February 3, March 3, November 3, 2020

Ronald 11 Comments

It is now 14 months until the Presidential Election of 2020–November 3.

It is also 5 months to the first voting on the Presidential nominee candidates of the Democratic Party, when the Iowa Caucuses take place–February 3.

It is also 6 months until Super Tuesday, where California and Texas, the two largest states in population, vote, along with 12 other states in the Primaries including Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Virginia.

We are now in the midst of the most crucial period of the upcoming Presidential elections, when the fate of the nation will be decided by which Democratic nominee will challenge Donald Trump, and work to prevent the complete destruction of the American Republic established 243 years ago by the Founding Fathers.