Hispanics

Poll On Republicans: 26 Percent Positive, 49 Percent Negative

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A new poll shows Republicans at a low point in popularity, only gaining 26 percent support, while 49 percent see the party as negative.

Also, 64 percent of Republicans believe Barack Obama is hiding his past, with many believing the “Birther” theory that he was born in Kenya, and is not an American citizen. Also, 19 percent believe Obama stole the 2012 election.

What can one say after hearing these poll numbers? The Republican Party has become so right wing, so out of touch with reality, that it will believe anything negative about Obama, and has made clear that they will do everything possible to block any successes by the President on any subject, including the economy.

With their inability to gain majority or near majority support of women, Hispanics and Latinos, Asian Americans, African Americans, young people, gays and lesbians, labor, environmentalists, and of 60 percent of the electoral votes of the nation, the Republican Party needs to change its tune, but looks as if they are doubling down on their obstinacy, obstructionism, and negativism.

This means further defeats, and possible dissolution of the Republican Party after 160 years of existence, including glorious times, sadly now a faint memory!

The Mounting Challenges Facing Barack Obama As He Gets Ready To Take The Oath Of Office

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President Barack Obama faces mounting challenges as he gets ready to take the oath of office for a second term as President a week from now,

These challenges include:

The Fiscal Crisis promoted by the House Republican majority

The Iran Crisis, with the growing threat of a nuclear Iran, threatening Israel, the whole Middle East, Europe and the United States

The winding down of the Afghanistan War, but continuing the fight against terrorist threats

The Gun Control debate as we have growing violence and collection of guns rapidly increasing

The Immigration Controversy at a time of growing Hispanic-Latino and Asian American population

The Global Warming-Climate Change challenge after the warmest year on record

The Education crisis as decline in standards has escalated

The Health Care issue, including the full implementation of ObamaCare and the Medicare-Medicaid crisis

The Energy issue, how to expand energy resources and move away from dependence on oil and coal

Obama has more than a full plate here, and to accomplish much of this will be a major achievement, but will not be easy to accomplish! And of course, there is always the unseen, unpredictable crisis which will arise, which will require a response as well. So let us all wish Barack Obama the best of luck and fortune as he, and this nation, faces the future!

Medicaid Expansion Under ObamaCare Only Agreed To By Two Republican Hispanic Governors: Interesting Development!

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Republican Governors are refusing to take up the offer of Medicaid expansion for their states under ObamaCare, despite the fact that the Obama Administration has arranged for total funding for the Medicaid expansion for those states for three full years, and 90 percent coverage of costs after that.

This is a means to insure that poor people will have medical care, and one would think that any Governor would wish to cover his or her poorer constituents, as a way to show concern about the welfare and health of the less fortunate in the states.

But NO, no way, is the reaction of all the Republican Governors who were elected in 2010, as part of the Tea Party Movement wave, with the major exception of the Governors of New Mexico (Susana Martinez) and Nevada (Brian Sandoval), both Hispanic governors of Mexican American ethnicity.

So Rick Scott of Florida, Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Perry of Texas, Paul LePage of Maine and other GOP Governors are refusing to participate, but the fact that the two Hispanic Republican Governors are doing so makes them stand out as cooperating, while the two Hispanic (Cuban American) Senators who are Republicans, Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, are totally against involvement in ObamaCare!

Is this due to politics, that Martinez and Sandoval are trying to distinguish themselves from Cruz and Rubio for future Republican Hispanic battles for national office–that is, for the Presidency?

Who can say, but it is certainly very curious, to say the least, that this situation has arisen. But kudos to Martinez and Sandoval for doing the right thing for their poorer citizens! And the fact that they are Governors, not Senators, could be a plus for them in the future in Republican politics!

The Coming Battle For The Hispanic Vote Of Two Ambitious Republican Senators—Marco Rubio And Ted Cruz

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One of the most interesting political battles over the next few years will be that between two Cuban American Republican Senators from major populated states, both of whom have Presidential ambitions, both of whom are young, both of whom are aggressive in trying to swing Hispanic voters toward the Republican Party and their own plans for national office.

These two Senators are Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, and neither will allow the other to gain any advantage unchallenged.

Rubio and Cruz are right wing conservatives, both of whom appeal to Tea Party activists, although Rubio tries to separate himself, to some extent, from some of that right wing group’s rhetoric at times.

Cruz has no such problem, and is, if anything, more “in your face” in his tactics than Rubio, even though he has been a Senator for exactly six days so far! His cockiness and arrogance were evident even before he was elected, and he will give no slack to anyone who does not share his extremist views on almost any issue!

We will witness constant one upsmanship by both Senators, who will be rivals for a long time, both being in their very early 40s, and both perceiving themselves in the White House in the future.

The question will be can they gain the support of fellow Hispanics and Latinos, when they, as Cubans, represent THREE percent of all Hispanics and Latinos, with a full 65 percent being Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans being the second largest percentage of Spanish speaking Americans. The likelihood of massive numbers of Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans becoming loyal to the Republican Party because of Rubio or Cruz seems highly unlikely.

Republican “Beards”: Tim Scott, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley

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The Republican Party is using its “beards” to try to convince voters of minority groups (African American, Hispanic and Latino, Asian American), which voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, that the party of heavily white, rural, and older voters is really concerned about equal opportunity and justice for them, a total lie!

So therefore, Tim Scott, the right wing African American Congressman from South Carolina, is being touted as a replacement for Senator Jim DeMint, who is leaving to head the Heritage Foundation. Scott is so extremist that he could be seen as the equivalent of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who is despised by a vast majority of the African American population, and even if Scott is appointed to the Senate to replace DeMint, the chance of him convincing the black community, which voted for Barack Obama by about 95 percent, that he is legitimately interested in their welfare and advancement, is miniscule!

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas may be Cuban American, but even their ethnic group voted about 52 percent for Obama, and 71 percent of all Hispanics and Latinos (with only 3 percent being Cuban, as compared to 65 percent being Mexican), voted for the President. So the odds that either Rubio or Cruz is going to be able to convince those of Spanish speaking descent to become Republican, after the anti immigrant campaign of Mitt Romney, and the Republican heritage of standing against immigration reform (with the exception of George W. Bush and John McCain), is really a stretch of one’s delusional thinking!

And the fact that two Asian (from India heritage) Republicans, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, are nationally known figures, does not mean that those of any Asian heritage, including from the Far East, are going to vote Republican, when 73 percent of Asian Americans voted for Obama. This is another example of total hallucination by the Republican leadership!

All that Scott, Rubio, Cruz, Jindal, and Haley represent are politicians of specific ethnic backgrounds who have spent their adult lives resisting the needs, wants, and views of the vast majority of their own groups! They are “traitors” to the best interests of groups that have long been ignored and ridiculed by Republican power figures!

So they are acting as “beards”, spreading false propaganda that the Republican Party is the party that people of their heritage should support in the future, but as long as they promote the hateful, divisive rhetoric and philosophies of the extremist right wing, they might continue in office as oddities, but they will not succeed in transforming people of minority heritage to large percentages becoming loyal to the Republican heritage of nativism and exclusionary behavior!

Why Chris Christie Will NEVER Be President Of The United States!

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has indicated he will run for reelection in 2013, an off year when only the New York City Mayoralty and Virginia Governorship compete for attention.

But with a new NYC Mayor and a new Virginia Governor to be selected, identity unknown, Chris Christie will be focused on more than usual, because he is a potential Presidential candidate for the Republican Party in 2016. He already leads Marco Rubio, Condoleezza Rice, Jeb Bush, and Paul Ryan, respectively, in a public opinion poll on 2016.

There are those who think Chris Christie might be the next President of the United States, but this author and blogger will explain now why Christie is NOT going to be the next President, for many reasons, in no special order. So here goes!

Chris Christie could very well be defeated for reelection by the charismatic Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker. It should be a competitive race.

Even if Christie wins a second term, he will not become President because:

1, He is much too outspoken, controversial, opinionated, to become our President. He rubs many people wrong, comes across as a bully to many, is crude and rude, and would wear thin in a Presidential campaign, with plenty of documentary evidence already available as to his unpleasant, annoying personality!

2. If he were nominated, he would not even be guaranteed to win his home state of New Jersey, which tends Democratic in Presidential elections.

3. He would be unlikely to win any Northeastern or New England state, except maybe New Hampshire.

4. He would not be able to compete in the Pacific Coast states or Hawaii.

5. He would have a rough time carrying Virginia or Florida, which Barack Obama won twice.

6. He would have a difficult time winning the upper Midwest or Illinois, but with some chance of winning Ohio and Iowa.

7. He would be unlikely to win Hispanics and Latinos in Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada, and would likely lose those states.

8. Christie might win New Hampshire and Ohio, and Iowa, potentially, but that would give him only 28 more electoral votes than Mitt Romney, a total of only 234.

9. Christie’s handling of the Hurricane Sandy situation helped him at that point, but will be forgotten by 2016, and will hurt him among mainstream conservatives, angry that he cooperated with President Obama, and took attention off Mitt Romney.

10.Christie is unacceptable on “social issues’ for his party base, issues such as abortion rights, gun control and acceptance of gay rights, although opposing instituting gay marriage in in New Jersey.

11. Christie has no background or experience in foreign policy, and imagine his personality on the international scene, where with his big mouth, he could cause grief in diplomacy big time! A gruff bully, which Christie is, is not fit to be President of the United States, although it may please the anti foreign tendencies of his party, who think the world is inferior to American “exceptionalism”!

12. This final point is not said in jest or ridicule, or designed as an insult, but to believe that we are going to elect a President as large as William Howard Taft in modern times is to believe in miracles, as Christie is a terrible model for health and physical fitness, and that will be to his detriment, right or wrong, in a Presidential campaign!

So forget about Christie’s own delusions of grandeur, as he is NOT going to be President of the United States in 2017!

Joe Biden And Marco Rubio Starting Early On Presidential Quest For 2016

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While Hillary Clinton is avoiding the subject of the Presidency due to her active involvement in policy making continuing for now, with no date set to leave as Secretary of State, her good friend and ultimate rival for the nomination of the Democratic Party, if she seeks the Presidency, Vice President Joe Biden, is leaving no stone unturned in his quest for the Presidency.

Joe Biden has always been a sincere, committed man in public life, so the fact that he visited New Jersey this weekend as a followup to the Hurricane Sandy disaster, as did Barack Obama before leaving on his Asian trip, is not all that unusual. But he did make reference to the fact that he had visited the New Jersey shores when growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and that he was committed to follow through on all necessary aid for restoration and rehabilitation of the coastline of the Northeast that was damaged by the super storm.

Also, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, already on the short list of many for the GOP nomination in 2016, having come off criticism of Mitt Romney for his “gifts” statement as the reason Barack Obama defeated him, had made plans to visit Iowa, the site of the first vote in 2016, the caucuses at the beginning of January, 2016, His visit on this past Saturday night, supposedly to celebrate Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s birthday, was obviously a first step toward a candidacy for the White House. He emphasized the importance of immigration reform, and his Hispanic ancestry as a Cuban American is hoped to be a winning point for other Hispanics and Latinos, mostly Mexican Americans, to take a good look at the Republican Party for the next Presidential election.

So there is no respite from politics, as the unofficial campaign for 2016 has begun!

The Reality Of The Next Decade: Split Government Control!

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It is now clear that our political system is facing a long period, probably at least a decade, of split government control on the national level!

The Democratic Party has a long term edge with the electorate, as a result of the two Barack Obama Presidential victories, with the only difference being the loss in 2012 of Indiana and North Carolina.

But with the growing Hispanic and Latino population in Arizona, Texas, and Georgia, the likelihood of those states turning “blue’ from “red” over this decade, is becoming more likely, and with that manifestation, the Electoral College situation will become much more one sided than it is now, and yet still allow for some states to wander over to the other side without affecting a Democratic victory for the White House.

Additionally, with the surprise gain in seats by the Democrats in the US Senate, only losing one state, Nebraska, and gaining Maine, Massachusetts, and Indiana in return, and more Republican seats up for reelection in 2014, the likelihood of the Senate staying majority Democratic for the long term, continues to grow.

However, with the gerrymandering of seats by Republican legislatures and Governors in 2010, even though the Democrats won more votes for the US House of Representatives, the Republicans were able to hold on to the majority, although reduced by about eight seats. The Democrats will have trouble gaining 17 seats or more because of the gerrymandering, and even if they do gain a slight edge, could easily lose it two or four years after winning the majority.

So the likelihood of a Democratic President, Democratic Senate, and a Republican House becomes more a normal situation until at least the next reapportionment of seats after the 2020 Census, and the Presidential and Congressional Elections of that year, but with the advantage that 2020 is a Presidential year, while 2010 was not.

So this means the odds of a long range stalemate and gridlock in American politics are clear cut!

Voting Rights Act Under Review, As Arizona, Florida And Other States Show Evidence Of Voter Suppression

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The Supreme Court has accepted a case on the validity of continuation of federal oversight of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, with the argument that states can handle their voting effectively, without discrimination.

Are such advocates getting high on drugs?

It is CLEAR CUT that Arizona, Florida and other states were working to discriminate against people of color and poor people in the recent election!

Florida was unable to handle its voting process expeditiously, and was abusive in cutting down days of voting from 14 to 8, thanks to the GOP legislature and Governor Rick Scott!

Arizona has still not counted all the votes, and Governor Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio are the worst abusers of voting rights, and both promote intimidation of Hispanics and Latinos, and act as if they are above the law!

Other states have promoted intimidation of Hispanics and Latinos, including Alabama specifically, and many states have promoted voter suppression laws.

How could a reasonable Supreme Court do anything other than uphold the need for continued monitoring of voting?

And yet this right wing majority on the Court could very well destroy one of the path mark pieces of legislation under Lyndon B. Johnson, and bring us back to the age of “Jim Crow”!

It i s hoped that Justice Anthony Kennedy (often the swing vote), and or Chief Justice John Roberts will join the four liberal members of the Court in upholding the continued enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. Roberts, having surprised everyone, with his decisive vote to uphold ObamaCare, hopefully will surprise us again with an open mind, and come through, even if Kennedy fails to do so.

To have advancements in American democracy endangered 50 years later is a true disgrace!

Mitt Romney Lacks Dignity And Class, Proving He Is The Worst Republican Nominee For President Since Barry Goldwater In 1964!

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Former Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has managed to reach a new low, in stating that Barack Obama won the election because of “gifts” to African Americans, Hispanics, women, and young people.

What gall and nerve this man has, and it proves he is a sore loser, as much as his running mate, Paul Ryan!

Romney was very willing to give “gifts” to corporations and wealthy people, had he been elected President. He had no shame in condemning the “47 Percent” in his Boca Raton statement, unaware that it was being taped. He later apologized for it, but now we know it was a false apology.

So Romney, again, proves he is a damned liar, a phony, a person who has no concern for anyone unless they are rich and powerful. He was not running to do what was best for the American people, but instead for the chance to add to his wealth, and have power to further promote the plutocracy, which already has too much power in this country!

Mitt Romney lacks dignity and class, and is, without doubt, the worst Republican nominee for President since Barry Goldwater in 1964!

And even Goldwater, at the least, had PRINCIPLES, while Romney has none, except his own aggrandizement!