Joe Scarborough

Newt Gingrich: Vitriol, Hatred, Confrontation, Tumult, Division, Distortion–The New Joseph McCarthy!

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As former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich continues to surge in the polls for the Republican Presidential nomination, it becomes more obvious that the Republican Party “establishment” is horrified at his rise.

Former Congresswoman Susan Molinari of New York, Congressman Peter King of New York, former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu (who worked as Chief of Staff to the first President Bush), former Florida Congressman and MNSBC talk show host Joe Scarborough, and innumerable others are ringing the alarm bell about the dangers of Newt Gingrich as the GOP nominee.

They and those who know politics best see Gingrich as a disaster for the party, similar to Barry Goldwater in 1964, but in many worse worse than Goldwater.

Goldwater did not have the ethical and moral problems of Gingrich. Goldwater did not set out to be another Joseph McCarthy, as Gingrich has done in modern terms.

Why call Gingrich another Joseph McCarthy? Gingrich, similar to McCarthy, levels ridiculous charges and accusations; utilizes virtriol and promotion of hatred; promotes confrontation and tumult and division and distortion with a great relish; does not care how many corpses he leaves behind in his lust for power; and would make the stalemate and gridlock that exists in Washington even worse than it is now!

Newt Gingrich cannot unite the country; cannot solve any of the major problems we are facing; and likely would take us into more foreign wars; promote more wild spending leading to a greater national debt; cause more corruption and scandals (both in government and personally); create more centralization of the powers of the Presidency in dangerous, abusive ways; and would make us wish for the times of Richard Nixon, the most divisive President of the 20th century!

This man is reckless, dangerous, and does not work well with others of his own party, let alone the opposition and the news media. He is a danger to the nation’s future, and one would hope that he would lose massively to Barack Obama, and cause a reassessment of the right wing madness of the Republican Party!

Senator Lindsey Graham And Afghanistan: Horrible Advice! :(

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South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham yesterday suggested that the United States build and retain a permanent military presence on Afghan soil, and that we recognize the need for our involvement in that forsaken nation for the long run.

This suggestion comes upon evidence that the Afghanistan War is not going well, and that the struggle on the ground against the Taliban is deteriorating rapidly, and that the nation is being given “a bill of goods”, that is a bunch of lies, similar to what we were told in 1966 and 1967 about the Vietnam War!

Joe Scarborough on MSNBC this morning made it clear that he had strong doubts about the wisdom of such a commitment, and being a former conservative Republican Congressman from north Florida, his words ring with brilliance.

As has been stated before on this blog, it is time for the nation and President Obama to stop manipulating the truth, and face the reality that Afghanistan is a lost cause, that NATO allies are rapidly leaving, and that we cannot afford a permanent presence, when we are rapidly losing our economic supremacy in the world.

Instead of talk about cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education, health care, the environment, and other essential domestic needs, the way to cut spending dramatically is to leave Afghanistan and Iraq as soon as possible, and stop unsustainable military adventures!

Otherwise, we are on the road to destruction, and the decline of what many are now calling the American Empire! 🙁

A Move Toward A Centrist Political Party, Called “No Labels”, And The Role Of Michael Bloomberg And Joe Scarborough!

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At Columbia University in New York City, on December 13, a centrist group is going to form a “No Labels” centrist movement to promote civility in American politics.

Among those who will engage in this new movement are the following: Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City; former Republican Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough, MSNBC talk show host of “Morning Joe”; retiring Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana; Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut; Democratic Senator Debby Stabenow of Michigan; former Republican Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia; Republican Congressman Christopher Shays of Connecticut;  Democratic Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles; and former Republican Governor Christie Todd Whitman of New Jersey, among others!

The group is against hyper partisanship, and promotes civility, calm, reason, and cooperation. Prominent fundraisers are involved in the new movement, and the hope is to form chapters in all 50 states.

There is growing speculation that Mayor Bloomberg might run as an independent for President, and some even speculate that Joe Scarborough might seek the Presidency or run with Bloomberg for Vice President on an independent party ticket, although the “No Labels” group claims that is not the purpose of the organization being formed!

One thing for sure: Joe Scarborough has begun a full scale attack on the incompetence and inadequacy of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as a possible candidate for the Presidency by the Republican Party, joining many others who feel the same way, including not only Barbara Bush and Karl Rove, but also conservative columnists Mona Charen, David Frum, and Peggy Noonan.

Certainly, if Bloomberg were to run, being the wealthiest political figure in the nation, with billions of dollars in assets, he could fund his own campaign, but the question is could he win over the country with his overly liberal views on social issues, and being a New York Jew! In an early poll, it shows he would only win about eleven percent of the vote, but in a dry run with President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, Obama would be the beneficiary, as Bloomberg would hurt Romney more than he would hurt Obama!

The Danger Of Violence In Today’s Charged Political Atmosphere

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently voiced fear that the super charged atmosphere that now exists in American politics could spark violence similar to what happened in San Francisco in 1978, when the mayor George Moscone and supervisor and gay activist Harvey Milk were shot to death by one of their former colleagues, Dan White.

Her concern over political violence has been echoed by former agents of the Secret Service, FBI, and CIA, and also by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman from Florida.

Scarborough, a very responsible talk show host in the mornings on MSNBC, condemned Glenn Beck and other radio and tv talk show hosts who promote strong emotions by their often out of bounds bitter attacks on the Obama Administration and President Obama personally. He warns that this kind of rhetoric is dangerous, and it is well known that Obama has had more death threats than is normal, with a lot of it due to his race.

The fear of Scarborough and these government agents is that the political atmosphere, being so charged and incendiary, is liable to lead to widespread violence and tragedies affecting ordinary American citizens, but also federal government employees and government leaders themselves.

And of course, the greatest fear is that our President could be subjected to harm, something we must all pray never happens, as the death of President John F. Kennedy still affects us nearly half a century later. That assassination, plus those of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.; the shootings of Ronald Reagan and George Wallace; and the attempted assassination twice of Gerald Ford; plus the shootings of others, including Malcolm X, Meir Kahane, and John Lennon demand that we bring pressure on both media talk show hosts and politicians to STOP the high stress, poisonous political rhetoric that has become so common.

Americans, and those who have the privilege of being in the public spotlight, MUST start seeing those who have a different view, as opponents, NOT enemies. If violence ensues, blood will be on their hands, and they should be held accountable in a court of law for inciting violence. Freedom of speech does not include the right to be reckless in language that causes the death or injury of others. We are entering the stage of “clear and present danger”, which is not covered by freedom of speech guarantees!