Franklin D. Roosevelt

Time For A New Generation Of Leadership: My Endorsement Of Pete Buttigieg For President!

Ronald 7 Comments

With the Iowa Caucuses taking place on Monday evening, followed by the New Hampshire Primary, the Nevada Caucuses, and the South Carolina Primary later in February, and then Super Tuesday on March 3 (14 states voting), it is time to consider who would be the best choice for President of the United States.

Anyone who has read my blog for the past eleven and a half years knows of my genuine affection for former Vice President Joe Biden.

I wish he had been the nominee in 2016, and believe he would have defeated Donald Trump.

But at age 77 now, and concerned about the idea of an octogenarian Presidency if Joe, or Bernie Sanders, or Mike Bloomberg wins the election, I do not think any of these three would be the best choice for the future of the party and nation.

I wish to make it clear that I will support whoever the Democratic Presidential nominee is in 2020, but prefer a younger candidate who represents the future.

So therefore, I am endorsing former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President!

I believe that Pete, while seen as a “dark horse”, represents the future of the party, and would move the nation forward in a rational, reasonable way.

He would be the John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama of his time, as the thought of a Catholic, a Southerner, a Governor of a small state, and a mixed race African American President was unlikely, but occurred in 1960, 1976, 1992, and 2008.

Pete was the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a small city, but there is no description of who a President should be, and what matters more is the inspiration that a candidate brings to the race.

And Pete represents a new generation; a man who would be the youngest President in history; a man who served in the military in Afghanistan; a Harvard and Oxford graduate; a recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship; and a scholarly man who can speak seven languages.

Pete is a moderate progressive, which is the mainstream of the Democratic Party, and this blogger and scholar does not believe that Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren can win the election. And were either to win, the strong odds are against their agenda as more ambitious than the next Congress would be.

To accomplish their goals would require a Congress similar to that under Franklin D. Roosevelt in the mid 1930s, or Lyndon B. Johnson in the mid 1960s, but that occurring is close to zero, in reality!

The fact that Pete Buttigieg is gay and has a husband would not, in my estimation, be a major factor in the election, except for extremist religious Christians and Jews, but realistically, they would be unlikely to vote Democratic anyway.

And as far as African American voters, while they might favor Joe Biden now, and there are some issues with Pete’s handling of racial issues in South Bend, can one really imagine African Americans backing Donald Trump for a second term?

The prospect of a woman nominee, either Amy Klobuchar or Elizabeth Warren, would be appealing, particularly after the disappointment in 2016, and the fact that the centennial of the Woman Suffrage 19th Amendment, is in 2020. But I think the odds of midwestern white men supporting a woman over a gay male is highly questionable.

A great idea, however, would be to select a qualified woman for Vice President, with Amy Klobuchar the front runner in that regard, older by a generation than Pete, but Obama had Joe Biden who was a generation older as well.

Having a Midwestern ticket of Pete and Amy would insure, in my estimation, a Democratic victory in November, with two firsts–a gay male President and a woman Vice President–two advancements brought to us by the Democratic Party, the party of reasonable revolutionary change as in the case of John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, half a century apart, and now looking into the future of the nation.

So again, I am in for whoever the Democrats nominate for President as the best choice for the nation, but enthusiastically endorse Pete Buttigieg for President, and welcome all commentary by any reader!

Thanksgiving Day A Day To Be Thankful For In Many Ways

Ronald 1 Comment

Today is Thanksgiving Day, and we have a lot to be thankful for.

We are thankful that we have a democratic system of government, where there is accountability for one’s behavior in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

We have violations in our history much too often, but the Constitution and Bill of Rights have ability to be utilized to counteract such violations.

Thank goodness that the Democrats won the House of Representatives in 2018, and are putting Donald Trump’s feet to the fire, no matter what happens in the US Senate.

The Republican Party is sealing its long term doom if it continues to back the lawlessness and corruption of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump, no matter what happens in 2020, will have his historical reputation in tatters, as his lack of ethics, morality, common decency, and concern for those less fortunate, guarantee his condemnation in the long run of history.

While neither political party is ideal or perfect, the Democratic Party is triumphant in the long run of history for having concerned itself with the advancement of average Americans from FDR to LBJ to Barack Obama.

There is plenty of room for improvement, but the Republican Party of Lincoln, TR, and Ike is long gone, and the GOP stands condemned for its lack of concern for average Americans since the inauguration of Ronald Reagan onward.

Pete Buttigieg Soars To First In Iowa Caucus Poll

Ronald 5 Comments

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has surged to first place in a new Iowa Caucus poll, the Monmouth University poll, an amazing rise for a mayor of a small sized city in a red state. He has gained 14 points since the summer, rising from 8 percent to 22 percent, three points ahead of Joe Biden.

It is time to start seeing Mayor Pete as a serious contender, rather than as a curiosity.

His major negative is that he has almost no support in the African American community, which right now is smitten with Joe Biden, a surprise when one thinks that either Kamala Harris or Cory Booker would have a strong support in that community, and yet does not do so.

Mayor Pete being gay and having a husband will alienate evangelical Christians, who, however, would never vote Democratic in any case.

One might say that having an urban executive government record of 8 years in South Bend, Indiana, is not a plus, but actually, being a mayor is often more on the front lines of what is America than being a Governor of a Southern state, such as Arkansas (Bill Clinton); or as Georgia one term of four years (Jimmy Carter); or two years as Governor (Woodrow Wilson in New Jersey); or four years as Governor (Franklin D. Roosevelt in New York); or no government experience (Donald Trump); or a much shorter one year mayoralty as Grover Cleveland in Buffalo, New York, or Calvin Coolidge in Northampton, Massachusetts, or Andrew Johnson in Greeneville, Tennessee.

American history is full of surprises, so do not write Mayor Pete off, as he might very well be the Democratic Presidential nominee and the 46th President of the United States!

Donald Trump’s War On Children And The American Future For Present Day Greed And Profit, And Based On Pure Racism And Nativism

Ronald 37 Comments

President Donald Trump has committed many crimes for which he should face justice, and incarceration.

But in many ways, the worst crime of all is his war on children and the American future for present day greed and profit, by a man who has zero compassion, empathy and concern for those who are suffering.

Trump claims to be pro life on abortion, but he is a phony, as he has no concern about children, whether born in America or in other nations.

He is willing to separate young children from their parents, something not done by Franklin D. Roosevelt with the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II.

Thousands of vulnerable children from Central America and elsewhere have been basically kidnapped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), US Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Homeland Security, and they are suffering mightily in emotional terms, as well as being poorly treated with inadequate food, clothing and housing, and many have been sexually and physically abused.

There are young children taken from their parents at ages under two years old, who now cannot speak or walk, and are permanently disabled, and will never be normal. To blame parents escaping bloodshed, crime, rape, and death in gang ridden Central America for what has happened requires one to have absolutely no concern for human life and dignity, and anyone who has no concern about the crime against humanity being perpetrated by Donald Trump and his despicable criminal collaborators is indeed an evil, uncaring person.

The only real difference from Nazi concentration camps is that so far as we know, no children have been executed, although about seven children have died in the captive conditions provided by the evil doers who collaborate with Donald Trump and his evil supporters who refuse to speak up for morality, ethics, common decency, and equal justice.

Additionally, Trump has worked to pollute the environment; deny health care to millions; and take no steps to cut the dangers to children in schools besieged by gun nuts who have made our education system captive.

Racial and ethnic minorities have been pushed into further poverty and degradation by a President who utters racial and nativist rhetoric on a regular basis.

The ultimate answer should be for Trump and his band of evil doers to be tried under international law in the Hague, being held accountable for his crimes against humanity!

A Sense That Pete Buttigieg Is On The Rise As A Moderate Alternative To Joe Biden

Ronald 20 Comments

The big winner of the Ohio Presidential debate this past week seems to many to be Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, who is seen as on the rise as a moderate alternative to Joe Biden.

Mayor Pete has been successful in raising large amounts of money in the third quarter, and his debate performance demonstrated his intelligence, his knowledge, and his perception of what Americans want, similar in his understanding of what Americans were looking for as when they voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

He is not promoting “pie in the sky”, massive changes in four years, as Bernie Sanders, and even Elizabeth Warren are doing, knowing full well that the nation is not going to elect a Democratic Congress large enough in majority to do the kinds of path breaking changes that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson were able to bring about in 1935-1936 and 1965-1966, respectively.

As Pete has said, we first need to recover from the chaos and anarchy of Donald Trump, and to expect the nation to go to the far left, and support a required end of all private health insurance, is simply not reality.

This blogger takes the view that Americans should have a choice of keeping the health care coverage they have, or move toward government control through Medicare, but not force it on everyone over a four year period, and always allow private health insurance as an alternative, left up to the decisions of individual Americans and their families.

A long range goal is extend Medicare in stages, first to those between 50-65, then those in their 40s, then those in their 30s, and continuing on, but again with private insurance allowed if preferred.

And in foreign affairs, Mayor Pete would offer a revival of American respect and responsibility, veering away from the disastrous and reckless diplomacy of Donald Trump, and would restore American rationality and respect among our allies, and recognition that he would not be pushed around by authoritarians as has been occurring with Donald Trump.

A young, dynamic President is needed, and Mayor Pete fills the bill, following in the Democratic Party tradition of John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. A new generation of leadership is required.

The Economy Over Character And Morality: The Typical Trump Supporter

Ronald 59 Comments

It is very disconcerting that a large percentage of Donald Trump supporters admit they do not like his tweets; wish he would stop uttering a lot of his controversial comments and promotion of divisiveness; and yet still support him, all because of the stock market being up, and their 401 Ks being better, and many wealthy people getting massive tax cuts.

So economics, the evil of money, dominates them, and if Trump takes us into a war; or is destroying environmental laws; or undermining consumer protections; or is flirting with authoritarian leaders; or is destroying our traditional alliances with democracies; or is threatening civil liberties and civil rights; or is mistreating migrant children and undermining their physical and emotional health long term; or is out to destroy all regulations of corporate practices; or is turning our court system back to the Gilded Age; or is working to destroy all the good that came out of the New Deal of FDR and the Great Society of LBJ; well, that is not important as long as one’s economic prosperity is greater.

The fact that the economy being in good shape is due to the amazing revival under Barack Obama, and would most certainly have continued under Hillary Clinton, is often denied by such people. And they clearly do not give a damn what happens to the nation, as long as they, personally, are doing well economically. Nothing else matters, as this is a case of ME, MYSELF and I, and nothing else.

So character and morality and the harm being done to America does not matter as long as one is economically better off personally, so to hell with what is good for America!

What could be more despicable than that? But remember, a similar mentality existed in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and look what it led to!

Pete Buttigieg A Fascinating Presidential Candidate In So Many Ways

Ronald Leave a comment

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg would be the youngest President in history if he won the Presidential election in 2020, and he would be succeeding a President twice his age.

Mayor Pete, as he is called by most, is a highly intellectual man, who can speak seven languages, while Donald Trump is poor even in speaking and writing English.

Mayor Pete is a gay man, who hid his sexuality until a few years ago, as he wished to pursue a life with someone, and realized he had to “come out”, and he is now married to Chasten Glezman, who has taken his last name, and is seven and a half years younger at age 30, and has been a middle school drama teacher.

Mayor Pete is an Afghanistan War veteran, a Naval Reserve Officer, and an intelligence officer from 2009-2017, reaching the rank of Lieutenant, and who also graduated from Harvard Magna Cum Laude, and went to Oxford University in the United Kingdom on a Rhodes Scholarship. He was also valedictorian of his high school class in South Bend, Indiana. He also won the JFK Profiles in Courage award and met Caroline Kennedy and other family members at the JFK Presidential Library in 2000, having written his essay on Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who now, ironically, is one of his opponents for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

In his two terms as Mayor of South Bend, Buttigieg won 74 and 80 percent of the vote, and was first mayor at age 29. He also gained notice as a contender to head the Democratic National Committee in 2017.

Buttigieg is also a regular church goer at a local Episcopal Church in South Bend, and more “religious” than most recent Presidents in his public display of attendance, probably the most since Jimmy Carter.

Buttigieg is also interesting in that he is left handed, a common trait among many recent Presidents, including Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, while only James A. Garfield and Herbert Hoover among earlier Presidents, was left handed.

He also would be the first President to be an only child, while four earlier Presidents had half siblings–Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

In so many ways, Mayor Pete is far superior to Donald Trump, and it would be an inspiration if he could win the Presidency in 2020.

Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell A Traitor To American Values And National Security, And Will Be A Leading Villain In American History!

Ronald 2 Comments

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will go down in history as a traitor to American values and national security, and be seen as a leading villain in American history.

When one compares him to other Senate Majority Leaders, including:

Democrats Alben Barkley, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mike Mansfield, Robert Byrd, George Mitchell, and Tom Daschle

and Republicans Howard Baker and Bob Dole

McConnell pales by comparison.

The fact that his wife, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, is in the Trump Cabinet, is in itself a massive example of corruption and conflict of interest.

But beyond that, McConnell denied President Barack Obama his right to have a Supreme Court Justice nominee, Merrick Garland, to be considered for the Court in 2016.

McConnell has also refused to allow any strengthening of voter security to prevent a Russian government collusion in our election system, as occurred in 2016.

McConnell has also been involved with Russian businessmen investing in Kentucky industrial projects, a clear cut example of treason.

McConnell has made clear that if a Supreme Court appointment occurs in the election year of 2020, he will allow such an appointment, after NOT allowing it in 2016.

McConnell has not allowed votes on House of Representatives bills, with the ability to vote them down, but not even allowing a vote on so much potential legislation, in order to avoid the Republicans in the Senate from putting their careers on the line by actually having to vote to prevent reforms of all kinds.

McConnell’s major goals has been to enrich the top one percent with tax cuts; to destroy all regulations possible on business and industry and destroy as much of the Great Society programs of Lyndon B. Johnson and the New Deal programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt; and to pack the federal courts with extremist right wing judges, many of them incompetent, who wish to destroy civil rights, organized labor, consumer rights, environmental regulations, women’s rights; and other progressive causes and laws, wiping out all fairness and movements towards social justice and equality.

A Massive Economic Recession, Possibly Depression, Is On The Horizon, And Timing Is Crucial

Ronald 3 Comments

America has had its longest economic expansion in its history, more than 10 years, brought about under Barack Obama, and continuing under Donald Trump, but would have continued if Hillary Clinton had been inaugurated.

But what goes up must come down, the “gravity rule”, and Donald Trump has insured a future massive recession, maybe even a depression, by his insane policy on tariffs.

China is punishing us in the tariff wars, and Trump has lied to the American people about who suffers when such wars occur. It is NOT China, but American consumers, and American farmers, and this will lead to a massive revolt against Donald Trump 15 months from now.

If Trump studied history, he would know that two past Republican Presidents, Benjamin Harrison in 1892, and Herbert Hoover in 1932, suffered massive defeat as a result of the McKinley Tariff of 1890 and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930. It led to the Panic of 1893 and the Great Depression of 1929.

But Trump has no knowledge of history, or economics, or of any topic imaginable, as he is easily the most ignorant, clueless, and purely stupid President we have had, and makes Warren G. Harding and George W. Bush look like scholars by comparison.

The issue is WHEN the economic collapse will come, and hopefully, before the election, as if it happens after, and Donald Trump is reelected, he will do nothing to alleviate the worst aspects of the coming recession or depression, and will have four years to impoverish America further, and incite white working class people against women and minorities, who he will blame for his own shortcomings.

Open Civil War could come as a result, and lead to the total destruction of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the great American image as the beacon of freedom and democracy could be permanently destroyed.

So we must hope that the collapse, as painful as it is, will occur in time to lead to a massive defeat of Donald Trump, with a Democratic President coming in to save us, as with Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and Barack Obama in 2009.

Is It Time For A New Generation Of Leadership For The Democrats?

Ronald 11 Comments

After watching both Democratic Presidential debates this week, one has to ask the question:

It is time for a new generation of leadership for the Democrats?

The Democratic Party, historically, has regularly gone for younger candidates for President than the Republicans.

Witness Franklin D. Roosevelt, age 51; Adlai Stevenson, age 52; John F. Kennedy, age 43; Lyndon B. Johnson full term, age 56; Hubert Humphrey, age 57; George McGovern, age 50; Jimmy Carter, age 52; Walter Mondale, age 56; Michael Dukakis, age 56; Bill Clinton, age 46; Al Gore, age 52; Barack Obama, age 47.

Compare this to Dwight D. Eisenhower, age 62; Gerald Ford, 1976, age 63; Ronald Reagan, age 69; George H W Bush, age 64; Bob Dole, age 73; John McCain, age 72; Mitt Romney, age 65; Donald Trump, age 70.

So nominating Bernie Sanders, age 79; Joe Biden, age 78; or Elizabeth Warren, age 71—all of whom would be the oldest first term nominated Presidential candidate—might be the wrong way to go!

Might it NOT be better to nominate, at their ages at the time of the Presidential Election of 2020?

Pete Buttigieg age 39

Tulsi Gabbard age 39

Eric Swalwell age 40

Julian Castro age 46

Beto O’Rourke age 48

Cory Booker age 51

Steve Bullock age 54

Kirsten Gillibrand age 54

Kamala Harris age 56

Amy Klobuchar age 60