Congressional Elections Of 2012

The Reckless, Irresponsible Republican House Of Representatives In The 112th Congress!

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Here we are, seven weeks before the elections for Congress and the White House, and the Republican House majority under Speaker John Boehner, after five weeks summer vacation, and only two weeks fall session, will adjourn until after the elections.

In doing so, they will ignore the following issues, among others, resulting in the most disastrous, least accomplished Congress in more than a half century.

Tax cuts for working families
Jobs legislation
Renewal of the Violence Against Women Act
Appropriations bills
Energy legislation
Avoidance of “going over the cliff” on budget cuts at the end of December
Aid to veterans to find work
Farm legislation to assist those affected by the massive drought
Legislation on cybersecurity
Work on the Alternative Minimum Tax and Estate Taxes

By refusing to deal with these issues in a timely manner, the Republican House throws them into a tight, limited time period after the elections, with no clear answer as to who will be in control of both houses of Congress and the White House until after November 6.

The answer is that the voters should kick out the GOP House majority, punishing them for their lack of action, and their reckless, irresponsible behavior, allowing the Tea Party element to dominate them, and putting the nation into distress on a constant basis for the past two years!

The Democratic Platform And Israel: An Unnecessary Blunder By Barack Obama! UPDATE: NOW RETURNED TO LANGUAGE OF 2008 PLATFORM, A GREAT MOVE!

Ronald 12 Comments

The decision of the Obama Administration and the Democratic Platform Committee at the Democratic National Convention, to eliminate language which was in the 2008 platform–referring to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and language dealing with the terrorist group Hamas, and the issue of negotiation of the fate of displaced Palestinian refugees by Israel—is an unnecessary blunder that should have been avoided.

Everyone who is fair minded knows that Barack Obama’s Presidency has been one of full support of Israel on all matters that impact them, while occasionally disagreeing on tactics and approaches of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, and the Israeli President, Shimon Peres, have both praised Obama, and declared him as strong a supporter of Israel as any President, since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948.

But the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Mitt Romney Presidential campaign are now jumping on the removal of the platform language, and it puts Obama and the Democratic Party on the defensive, when keeping the language would have avoided this problem, and would have done no harm.

So it is not the issue of being angry with Obama, although some Jews, obviously, will be so, but rather, why, oh why, did the President decide to “shoot himself in the foot”, and create an issue which might impact the election in the swing states, particularly Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, in particular, and might also make the victories of the President in other states with substantial Jewish populations a bit closer, and might affect Congressional or Senate races.

The Jewish vote, if a large percentage abandon the President and the Democratic Party, could have long range implications that no one is thinking about now.

And it could make the Islamic world think that Obama might not support Israel to the extreme, in case of an Iranian crisis, even though one should have no doubt about the matter, in reality. But perceptions often matter more than reality, so this is something that Barack Obama and the Democrats will regret, as it gives unnecessary ammunition to the Republican Party!

It has just been learned that the 2008 Platform language on Jerusalem being Israel’s capital city has been returned to the document, a GREAT MOVE!

Wing Nuts Of 2010, And Now Of 2012–Lost Republican Opportunities In The Senate Then, And Possibly, Now!

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The Republican Party is infamous for running wing nuts for the Senate, and as a result, lost the chance for control of the US Senate in 2010.

They ran such characters as Christine O’Donnell in Delaware; Ken Buck in Colorado; Sharron Angle in Nevada; and Joe Miller in Alaska.

The first three were so whacky that the Democrats held on to the seats, and kept control of the Senate, with Harry Reid of Nevada remaining Senate Majority Leader. Lisa Murkowski won a miraculous victory in Alaska over Tea Party favored Joe Miller, keeping that seat sane and sensible, while Republican.

At the same time, Rand Paul and Mike Lee won in Kentucky and Utah, respectively, and Marco Rubio was also backed by the Tea Party, and now Paul and Rubio are likely leaders of the party in the near future, no matter how right wing they are!

Now we have in 2012 the following: Ted Cruz in Texas, backed by the Tea Party and likely to win a Senate seat; Debbie Fischer in Nebraska, who faces former Democratic Senator and Presidential seeker Bob Kerrey, who faces a tough battle; Richard Murdock, who defeated respectable conservative Richard Lugar in Indiana; and now, Todd Akin, challenging Senator Claire McCaskell in Missouri.

With the likelihood of Cruz, Fischer, and Murdock victories for the Tea Party and the right wing of the social conservatives, the only thing that may stop GOP control of the US Senate is the Todd Akin controversy, but in theory, Akin could win that race too, and with only three or four seats gain needed to win control of the Senate for the Republicans, the future makeup of the Senate is disturbing!

It should be pointed out that the Texas and Indiana seats coming up for election are already GOP seats, so only Nebraska and maybe Missouri would be gains for the Tea Party element as things stand now! But going from Kay Bailey Hutchison and Richard Lugar to Ted Cruz and Richard Murdock is a major step backward toward further deadlock, confrontation, and paralysis in a Senate already with a terrible reputation

Missouri, Bellwether State, MAY Decide Senate Balance And Presidential Race In 2012

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Missouri, the “Show Me” state, is also the ultimate bellwether of all states in the past century.

Since 1904, the state has ALWAYS gone to the winner of the Presidency EXCEPT twice. In 1956, it voted for Adlai Stevenson over Dwight D. Eisenhower by about 4,000 votes, and the same vote margin occurred in 2008, with John McCain winning over Barack Obama.

Beyond the history of Missouri, the blunder of Todd Akin, the Tea Party and Republican nominee for the Senate talking about “legitimate rape”, has outraged not only his opponent, Senator Claire McCaskill and women across America, but also the Republican Establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senator John Cornyn, head of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, as well as Karl Rove, head of the American Crossroads SuperPAC that is raising hundred of billions of dollars for the Republican Congressional and Presidential campaign.

However, Mitt Romney has not shown the same willingness to demand that Akin withdraw from the Senate race, and that may be because his running mate, Paul Ryan, cosponsored legislation to deny abortion to rape victims, by supporting “personhood” language that would make fetuses defined as “persons’ before birth.

Additionally, social conservatives are backing Akin, demonstrating the split in the GOP between them and the Establishment Republicans who see electoral disaster ahead.

As a result, the Akin controversy could do the following in November:

Throw the state and its ten electoral votes to Barack Obama, possibly replacing Wisconsin’s ten electoral votes, with the assumption that Paul Ryan might be able to carry his home state for the Republican ticket. It would make the path to victory for Barack Obama a lot easier.

Help Claire McCaskill to retain her Senate seat, and in so doing, improve the chances of the Senate staying in control of the Democrats.

Have an effect nationally on the percentage of the women’s vote that would go Democratic in Congressional districts, possibly affecting the balance of seats in the House of Representatives, and assisting the opportunity of the Democrats to regain control of the chamber.

So this mess could be the decisive turning point of the 2012 election cycle, even If Akin ultimately gets out of the Missouri Senate race. The damage may have been done already, and no chance to reverse the damage!

Paul Ryan: Big Spender When Corporations Or Republican Party Wants It, But Not Under Democrats Or Barack Obama!

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Conservatives and delusional people believe Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, is the solution to BIG government and high spending levels.

The truth is that is ONLY true when Barack Obama is President, or the Democrats had control of Congress, beginning in 2007!.

Paul Ryan backed the Wall Street bailout when the economic collapse was occurring in the Fall of 2008.

Paul Ryan voted for all spending on the Iraq War, having no doubts.

Paul Ryan voted for all spending on the Afghanistan War, having no doubts.

Paul Ryan voted for the Bush Prescription Drug Plan in 2003, without making an issue of adding to the national debt, by refusal to pay for the plan with taxes.

Paul Ryan has become a deficit “hawk” only when Barack Obama became President, and when Ryan became head of the House Budget Committee in 2011.

Paul Ryan has a career of being a big spender, except when it was politically convenient to make an issue of every funding bill under President Obama.

Paul Ryan is, therefore, not what his supporters think he is, and already, there is “buyer’s remorse”, a fear among Congressional Republicans that they will have trouble being reelected with the burden of the Ryan Plan on their backs.

Some see a major disaster in the making, a nearly total wipe out of GOP gains in Congress in 2010, after only two years in the majority!

Ryan may turn out to be worse for the party’s fortunes than Dan Quayle or Sarah Palin! Who would have thought that?

The Drought, The Farm Belt, And The Republican Party

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Just as has happened often in the past, farmers and ranchers in the South, The Midwest, and the Great Plains are experiencing hard times, with the present drought causing a crisis of massive proportions on a level not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

But has the Congress, with the Republican Party in control of the House of Representatives, shown willingness to deal with that crisis?

The answer is NO, because of the battle over the food stamp program, which Congressman Paul Ryan, now the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, wishes to cut over the next ten years, sparking a battle with Democrats in the Senate, as well as the House. Remember that Ryan is the head of the House Budget Committee, and has developed the Ryan budget, which passed the House with all but ten GOP votes, but not one Democratic vote, and was rejected by the Senate, controlled by Democrats.

Many farmers and ranchers are becoming totally disgusted with the deadlock and stalemate in Washington, DC, and that means potential trouble for some Republican office holders in the House, and could lead to some Democratic gains, as the only alternative for disgruntled people in the farm economy, totally exasperated at the lack of action!

47th Anniversary Of Medicare: Something To Salute!

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Forty seven years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson celebrated the signing of the Medicare law by presenting former President Harry Truman with the nation’s first Medicare card, at a time when Truman was 81 years old.

This was a great moment, and represented the second major reform that would affect all Americans in the future, with the first being Social Security, signed into law thirty years earlier by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935.

In both cases, the vast majority of supporters of the legislation were northern Democrats, with the help of some moderate to liberal Republicans, but both major reforms were brought about by Democratic Presidents!

And now we have a Republican Party, which in broad terms were against both reforms, pledging to privatize both programs, and yet we have millions of uninformed or ignorant voters who seem not to realize what might very well happen IF the GOP wins the majority in both houses of Congress and wins the Presidency.

The Paul Ryan budget plan makes this all evident, but apparently, you can hit someone over the head, and they will refuse to accept reality of what a GOP victory means!

The goal is to keep Social Security and Medicare as they are, with some reforms, but to do that, we must insure that the Democrats keep control of the Presidency at the least, and at least one Congressional branch as well!

The Momentous Month Of June 2012 In The Supreme Court: Health Care And Illegal Immigration

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June 2012 will go down in history as one of the most momentous months in the history of the Supreme Court.

The Obama Affordable Health Care Law will be judged as to whether it is constitutional, and allow a mandate on all citizens to purchase and have health insurance. This is the crux of the Obama Presidency in the first term, and will have a dramatic effect on the Presidential and Congressional elections of 2012, along with impacting millions of citizens no matter what the decision.

The Court will also decide the constitutionality of the Arizona SB1070 law, dealing with the right of that state and others to control illegal immigration, seen as an issue of human rights by many, and also as an issue of states rights against the American national government.

There will be other cases decided, of course, but the main attention will be paid to these two crucial cases, which, no matter what the decision of the Court, will have an enduring effect on the nation for many years into the future!

Two Prestigious Scholars Blame The Republican Party For The Stalemate In The 112th Congress

Ronald 5 Comments

Two well known scholars, Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norman J. Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, have recently published a book and authored articles criticizing the Republican Party for the stalemate in the 112th Congress.

The Republican Party is blamed for its refusal to hold members of their party in Congress accountable for their wild statements; is seen as totally against compromise; refuses to accept facts, evidence and science; lacks respect for the legitimacy of the opposition party and its members; and is so far outside the mainstream as to be alarming for any hope of accomplishment of any goals or programs!

The two people most responsible for this extremism are former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Grover Norquist of the Americans for Tax Reform. But also the filibuster has been abused in the Senate, and prevented many executive branch appointments from being confirmed, both in the government agencies and in the court system.

The reaction to Roe V. Wade after 1973 mobilized social conservatives, while the tax revolt in California in 1978 mobilized anti tax activists. Also, the South turned conservative Republican after the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s; and the rise of conservative talk radio, and the growing impact of Fox News on cable, also had a great impact on what has become a growing stalemate and gridlock.

Health care reform, climate change, economic recovery, deficits, and debt issues have become a chasm between the two major political parties. Polarization has become the norm, and is a dangerous trend which may continue, if the voters again send a confusing message of a divided Congress in the 2012 Congressional elections. The Tea Party movement, if it grows, will further create conflict at a time when we need negotiation and compromise!

This assessment is extremely worrisome, as it means that our national government may be totally paralyzed, when we need true statesmen in both parties dealing with our important national agenda!

The Anti Gay Republican Party And Its Religious Allies: A Disgrace To American Values!

Ronald 2 Comments

The Republican Party is making clear that it has an anti gay agenda, with very few Republicans willing to condemn the hate and prejudice that is being espoused by religious Right pastors, and by social conservatives who are doing everything they can to undermine any possibility of fair treatment of gays and lesbians.

Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council have succeeded in forcing Mitt Romney to fire a gay adviser, and it seems clear that Romney will not stand up to these religious bigots.

Instead, elements of the Catholic Church, and evangelical Christians are acting in a way that Jesus Christ would not approve. So we have Joel Osteen, who seemed inclusive when he first became noticed on the national scene from his mega church in Houston, who shows no open mindedness at all toward gays, disillusioning many who thought he had a more tolerant approach; and we have Pastor Sean Harris of The Berean Baptist Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina, who went on a rant against gays in a sermon last week, and advocated violence against any boy who showed a “limp wrist”, or any girl who acted “butch”. What was even more shocking is how his congregation laughed when he spoke of smacking children, and many seemed to agree with his hateful tirade. Harris apologized, but he lied about what he had said, which was taped. What kind of a religious leader can lie openly and be believed?

Christianity in America is being poisoned and polluted by people who claim to be “good Christians”, but have no problem in advocating violence, hate, prejudice, discrimination, ostracism, and more!

The Republican Party should be ashamed for allowing itself to become captive of these hateful peddlers of a faith that some of them even wish to deny that Jesus was Jewish. Anti semitism, anti black, anti gay, anti immigrant,and anti women views have become common among many elements of Christianity, thankfully not all, but much more prevalent than many want to admit!

Mitt Romney, showing no guts or courage, needs to be walloped on Election Day, or else the dangers of militant, extremist Christianity spreading to national policy are increased, and his party needs to get the message of defeat as well in Congress, that the good people in America are not going to allow their despicable agenda to be advanced, and instead to be clearly repudiated!