Congressional Elections Of 2022

Joe Biden’s Public Opinion Ratings Rise In Ukraine Crisis, After Uniting NATO

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President Joe Biden’s public opinion ratings have risen in the midst of the Ukraine Crisis, and after uniting NATO to its strongest cooperative venture in many years.

The situation is becoming dire, as 1.6 million Ukranian citizens have fled to neighboring nations, and the call is for a “no fly zone” to prevent Russian air attacks on Ukranian cities.

This horrendous foreign policy crisis could be a big boost to Joe Biden and the Democrats, as the 2022 midterm Congressional elections come upon us!

The issue of inflation of gas prices and food prices increasing is concerning, but the international situation should give Biden a boost over the next eight months.

Joe Biden Becomes A Wartime President, Will Change The Equation On His Presidency!

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Sadly, but unavoidably, Joe Biden has become a wartime President, which will change the equation on his Presidency.

In the midst of so many issues and controversies facing the 46th President, the issue of foreign policy and war has reared its ugly head.

Joe Biden and NATO must meet the Russian Federation threat of Vladimir Putin, with his invasion of Ukraine, before it becomes a further invasion of NATO nations, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, or Poland.

This situation will have a dramatic effect on so many areas, beyond international affairs, as it is likely to have a deleterious effect on the economy, and will likely cause new debate about the old isolationist arguments of the past.

The danger of a real third World War is omnipresent, and the national security of America, as well as their NATO partners, is under threat.

And sadly, the conservative right wing is amazingly pro Russian, mind boggling to have Fox News Channel and its despicable talk show hosts embracing Putin, and showing no concern over the future of Ukraine.

So the Republican Party faces a crossroads on this matter, as to whether they are prepared to embrace this extremist viewpoint favoring Russia.

It will be a major factor in the politics of 2022 and 2024!

Tenuous House Of Representatives And Senate Majorities Have Happened Before In Congress

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In the era since since there were 48 states (1913) and 50 states (1959) and since, there have been several Congresses in which either the US House of Representatives or the US Senate have had razor thin margins in membership, similar to what is happening in the 117th Congress, with a Democratic lead of only six seats in the House and an even split (50-50) in the Senate.

In the US House of Representatives, we have had close margins in the following 7 Congresses:

65th Congress 1917-1919 215-214 6 others
72nd Congress 1931-1933 218-216 1 other
78th Congress 1943-1945 222-209 4 others
83rd Congress 1953-1955 221-213 1 other
106th Congress 1999-2001 223-211 1 other
107th Congress 2001-2003 221-212 2 others
117th Congress 2021-2023 222-212 1 vacancy

In the US Senate, we have had close margins in the following 11 Congresses:

66th Congress 1919-1921 49-47
70th Congress 1927-1929 48-46 1 other, 1 vacancy
72nd Congress 1931-1933 48-47 1 other
82nd Congress 1951-1953 49-47
83rd Congress 1953-1955 48-47 1 other
84th Congress 1955-1957 48-47 1 other
85th Congress 1957-1959 49-47
107th Congress 2001-2003 50-49 1 other
108th Congress 2003-2005 51-48 1 other
110th Congress 2007-2009 49-49 2 other
117th Congress 2021-2023 50-48 2 other

Notice that both houses of Congress have had tight margins in the 72nd Congress (1931-1933); the 83rd Congress (1953-1955); the 107th Congress (2001-2003); and the present 117th Congress (2021-2023)!

These elections occurred at the time of the worsening of the Great Depression; the beginning of the Eisenhower Administration; the time of the contentious Presidential Election of 2000; and the time of the controversial Presidential Election of 2020!

The decades of the 1950s and the 2000s saw the largest number of tenuous majorities, with four Congresses in the 1950s and three Congresses in the 2000s having such results!

A total of 14 Congresses have had at least one house with a tenuous margin!

Whether the present tenuous majorities in both houses of Congress will continue in 2022 and beyond is the big question!

Adam Kinzinger Second Republican Added To January 6 House Committee Investigation By Nancy Pelosi

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The House Select Committee on the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection has been greatly improved by the announcement of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger has agreed to join the investigation.

Kinzinger, like the other House Republican on the committee, Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, is a solid conservative who does not support most Democratic Party ideas and values, but they are both, ultimately, patriots who understand that what happened on January 6, 2021 was an attack on the Constitution, American democracy, and the rule of law.

Both Kinzinger and Cheney are strong critics of Donald Trump, and make clear that he has hijacked the Republican Party and the conservative movement, and is a threat to the survival of the Republican Party and the conservative ideology, but both are willing to do what is necessary for the betterment of the nation.

Both have, and will continued to experience, bitter and vicious attacks, and will face tough primaries in the Midterm Congressional elections of 2022, and may lose their seats and even membership on committees as a result.

But they are putting the nation ahead of their own personal interests, and one can wish that they will add a great deal to the investigation of January 6, and help to hold those complicit in that attack on the US Capitol, to the full extent of the law.

Since there would be little chance of the Illinois district of Kinzinger going to the Democrats, and likekly, zero chance of the state of Wyoming At Large Congressional district going Democratic, we can all wish that both Kinzinger and Cheney are successful in retaining their seats in the House of Representatives in November 2022.

Even if that does not happen, they will be well remembered in history as “Profiles in Courage”!

Nancy Pelosi Rejects Jim Jordan And Jim Banks For January 6 House Committee Investigation, And Kevin McCarthy Pulls All Five Appointees!

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It looks as if the January 6 House Committee investigation of the US Capitol Insurrection will only have one patriotic, principled Republican on the committee, Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who already has been stripped of her third ranking position as House Republican Chair by order of House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy!

By McCarthy selecting Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio and Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana, both out to cover up the Insurrection scandal and Donald Trump, to the committee shows McCarthy is not serious, and already, the two earlier Republican leaders, Speaker John Boehner and Speaker Paul Ryan, have condemned his desire to defend Donald Trump and undermine any investigation.

So Speaker Nancy Pelosi is courageous and proper in refusing those two appointees to the House Committee, and McCarthy has withdrawn all five members and refuses to participate on the committee.

This will not work out well for McCarthy, who is a disgraceful leader, only interested in his own advancement to the Speakership in the next Congress.

McCarthy also has the gall to call Pelosi the “lame duck Speaker”, so cocksure of himself that the Republicans will win the House of Representatives in 2022.

No one is smart to bet money on Nancy Pelosi losing the Speakership, although she might decide to retire at the end of the 117th Congress, but that is unknowable at this point!

It is more likely that McCarthy will fail to become Speaker, and might even be rejected by his GOP colleagues even if the party were to win control, and he could also come under indictment for failing to explain his interactions with Donald Trump on January 6, and his fawning obedience to Trump ever since January 6, even though he condemned Trump on January 13, when Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives!

Liz Cheney just defended Nancy Pelosi, and condemned Kevin McCarthy, and kudos to her for that, as she is seriously interested in learning all of the facts and truth about January 6, so it does not happen again!

Celebrating The Real Meaning Of July 4–Promotion Of Freedom, Equality, And Democracy!

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Independence Day–July 4–is a holiday to celebrate the promotion of Freedom, Equality, and Democracy!

The 245th Independence Day is a sobering day, as the Republican Party is trying mightily to cover up the Fascist authoritarian attempt of Donald Trump and his treasonous and seditionist supporters to destroy the Constitution and rule of law, as they did on January 6, 2021, with the US Capitol Insurrection.

The Republican Party is also trying to destroy the ability of people of color to vote, something enshrined in the Constitution by the 15th Amendment in 1870, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The right wing Supreme Court, with five of the six conservatives appointed by Presidents who lost the popular vote, and the sixth one (Clarence Thomas) accused of sexual abuse, along with Brett Kavanaugh, has also worked to destroy the Voting Rights Act.

And the danger exists that if one Democratic Senator is unable to vote on any legislative action or were to pass away, the possibility of the Democrats losing control of the Senate to Mitch McConnell is a horrifying reality.

And were Stephen Breyer to continue to ignore the need for his retirement from the Supreme Court, to insure that Joe Biden can select his replacement before the midterm elections, the threat exists that the Republicans then, if not sooner, would gain control of the Senate, and we could face a 7-2 Court, instead of a 6-3 Court!

On this 158th Anniversary of the third and last day of that turning point of the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, the tremendous sacrifices of the three day battle which insured the eventual victory of freedom over slavery, let us NOT forget that the battle to preserve freedom, equality and democracy goes on!

The Republican Party Of 2021 Is A Disgrace, Refusing To Provide Aid In A Pandemic And Depression

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The Republican Party of 2021 is a total disgrace, refusing to provide aid in a pandemic and economic depression, with not even one Republican Senator or House member voting for the $1.9 trillion legislation, that benefits children, the poor, struggling middle class people, schools, small businesses, and state and local governments who, without such aid, would have to fire teachers, firefighters, police officers, and so many other essential public employees.

With so many people harmed by the disaster of the past year, with Donald Trump doing next to nothing about it, the lifeline of $1400 checks is a blessing.

The Republicans supported, along with Democrats, the two earlier pieces of legislation, for $1200 and $600 aid in 2020, but the minute Joe Biden comes in, they refuse, and this will be remembered by average, every day voters, including Republicans, with many Republican mayors and some Republican Governors finding it hard to fathom why the Congressional Republicans refuse to the last man and woman to support essential aid.

This will reverberate on Republicans in the midterm Congressional Elections of 2022, and already, some veteran Republicans are bowing out of running for reelection, as they see Donald Trump dominating the party and destroying it piece by piece, so the Republican future is extremely dim!

“Socialism” And “Defund The Police” Killed Democratic House Numbers, Endangering Majority In 2022

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The Democratic Party needs to realize that if it goes too far to the Left, it will doom President Joe Biden’s efforts for success!

Unfortunately, the Congressional Elections of 2020 demonstrated that the nation is still very split on what is desirable to accomplish, as the Republican opposition and Donald Trump utilized fear of the word “Socialism”, as if Joe Biden and the Democrats are equivalent of Communist leaders in Cuba, China, the Russian Federation, and other left wing regimes, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua!

This shows total ignorance of the term “Socialism”, and the reality that America is a mixed Capitalist-Socialist nation, with the Socialist party of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas in the first half of the 20th century contributing many ideas, which over time, were part of the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson, and many other progressive reform since then.

But it is clear that had Bernie Sanders somehow been the Democratic nominee for President, he would NOT have been able to win, as only a moderate centrist with a tip to the Left, as Joe Biden has been his whole life, could possibly have won back the Midwest states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, along with the Sun Belt states of Georgia and Arizona, and not lose any of the 20 states that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.

Also, while there have been too many outrageous examples of police abuse and brutality, and particularly against African American males and Latino males, and really even females, the answer is police reform and accountability, not “Defund the Police”, as they are still essential.

Sadly, the Senate only saw two Democrats elected (Mark Kelly, John Hickenlooper), while one (Doug Jones) was defeated, gaining only one seat, to 48, although Georgia creates an opportunity in its runoff election for the chance to have a 50-50 Senate, that Vice President Kamala Harris could organize as a Democratic Senate, with Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader, instead of the horrible Mitch McConnell.

But there is danger of the House of Representatives, in a midterm election, going back to the Republicans, since they have gained at least 5-7 seats in the 117th Congress, and with the reality, that the party in the White House usually loses seats in the following midterm election.

The Senate will have, again, twice as many Republican seats up for election in 2022, but this scenario did not work out in 2020, so no assurance there either of retaining or gaining a Democratic Senate majority, which is so urgent to make Joe Biden a successful President!