John Danforth

Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley: Traitor, Seditionist, And Coward On January 6!

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Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri was the first Senator to challenge the Electoral Vote count on January 6, 2021, with that famous image of him showing his fist in support of the US Capitol Insurrection.

Now we have seen that Hawley fled the rioters in panic, after having provoked their violence by his gesture, and refusal to accept the results of the Presidential Election of 2020!

There is no debate that he is a clearcut traitor and seditionist, as well as demonstrating that he acted in cowardice!

Hawley has disgraced his oath of office, and should be expelled from the US Senate, and face prosecution and imprisonment!

Instead, however, he is defiant, and plans to continue his treasonous behavior, and it is clear he intends to run for President.

The reaction on Twitter to Hawley’s cowardice on January 6, 2021, is blistering and constant, as well it should be!

Hawley will not have a restful, calm day after what he demonstrated by his behavior on January 6!

Every public place where he appears, he should be booed and jeered at, and the media need to continue to demonstrate that he is a dangerous demagogue who will stop at nothing to gain power!

Former Republican Senator John Danforth, a distinguished mainstream conservative, who had enthusiastically supported Hawley for the Senate race in 2018, condemned him immediately after the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection, and many other reputable Republicans and conservatives have called him out as well.

Hawley should be opposed for reelection to the Senate in 2024, if he has not been forced out by Senate action before then, and any Presidential campaign seems likely to be an utter failure.

Josh Hawley will go down in history in infamy, for certain!

Senator Josh Hawley Of Missouri Making His Mark As Worse Than Even Ted Cruz And Tom Cotton!

Ronald 6 Comments

Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley, second youngest Senator, and only in his third year in the US Senate, is making quite a name for himself, but all in a negative fashion!

He is one of the villains who incited the January 6 Capitol Insurrection, refusing to accept the victory of Joe Biden over Donald Trump, and even after the insurrection, refusing to accept reality.

He has lost the support of his mentor, former Missouri Republican Senator John Danforth, who once admired him and saw great promise for the young man, but has now repudiated him totally.

Missouri has had a number of distinguished Senators in its past, including:

Thomas Hart Benton
Carl Schurz
Harry Truman
Stuart Symington
Thomas Eagleton
John Danforth
Claire McCaskill

Josh Hawley has the gall to be the only Senator to vote against an Anti Asian Discrimination Bill, beyond understanding!

Even Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and others who are equally despicable in so many ways, ALL voted for this legislation!

Josh Hawley wants to be President, as much as Cruz, Cotton, and other disgraceful Republican Senators, but there is NO rationale for being the lone vote against a basic Civil Rights bill!

The aim must be to insure Josh Hawley goes nowhere in the Presidential competition and is prosecuted for treason and sedition for his involvement in the Capitol Insurrection, and end up forced out of the Senate and into a prison cell!

44 Retired US Senators Speak Out On Constitutional Crisis, Including Principled Republicans

Ronald 1 Comment

The Washington Post published two days ago an op-ed editorial by 44 retired US Senators, calling on the present members of the Senate to show guts and courage and speak up to defend democracy and the Constitution, from the threats presented by President Donald Trump.

Eleven of those 44 were Republicans, of all stripes and beliefs, including Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado; William Cohen of Maine; Alfonse D’Amato of New York;  John Danforth of Missouri; David Durenberger of Minnesota; Chuck Hagel of Nebraska; Richard Lugar of Indiana; Larry Pressler of South Dakota; Alan Simpson of Wyoming; John Warner of Virginia; and Lowell Weicker of Connecticut.

The other 33 were Democrats, including such luminaries as Evan Bayh of Indiana; Bill Bradley of New Jersey; Tom Daschle of South Dakota; Chris Dodd of Connecticut; Russ Feingold of Wisconsin; Bob Graham of Florida; Tom Harkin of Iowa; Gary Hart of Colorado; Bob Kerrey of Nebraska; John Kerry of Massachusetts; Joe Lieberman of Connecticut; Barbara Mikulski of Maryland; Sam Nunn of Georgia; Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia; and Mark Udall of Colorado.

America needs Republicans in the Senate, now 53 of them, to stop defending Donald Trump, and start concerning themselves with the preservation of American democracy.  They need to speak up and challenge and confront Donald Trump and stop accepting his violations of the Constitution.

If they do not, they will  be relegated to the dustbin of history, and the Republican party of Lincoln, TR, Ike, Reagan, Ford, and H. W. Bush will die of lack of principle and commitment.

The Shame And Embarrassment Of Missouri: What Has Happened To The “Show Me” State?

Ronald 3 Comments

Missouri is smack in the middle of the United States, and is the ultimate swing state, having successfully gone with the winner of the Presidency in every election since 1900, except for 1956 (picking Adlai Stevenson over Dwight D. Eisenhower) and 2008 (picking John McCain over Barack Obama).

However, both times the final result was not known for days, and the victory was only by about 4,000 votes statewide.

Missouri is also the state historically of the following statesmen:

President Harry Truman (1945-1953), who had served in the Senate from 1935-1945 (Democrat)
Senator Thomas Hart Benton (1821-1851) (Democrat)
Senator Carl Schurz (1869-1875) (Republican)
Senator Stuart Symington (1953-1977) (Democrat)
Senator John Danforth (1977-1995) (Republican)
Senator Thomas Eagleton (1969-1987) (Democrat)

But now, Missouri is represented by Senator Roy Blunt, who used to be one of the top Republicans in the House of Representatives, and has become connected to the Blunt Amendment proposal, allowing any employer to prevent medical services based on religious grounds to any employee, a measure defeated by the Democratic majority in the US Senate. This is seen as anti women, interfering with their right to have birth control as part of medical plans.

And now, Congressman Todd Akin, controversial for his comment about “legitimate” rape, but refusing to withdraw as the GOP nominee for the Senate seat of Senator Claire McCaskill, is putting Missouri into the strange position of possibly having both Senators on record as against the rights of women to control their own reproductive lives, and trying to prevent abortion if a victim of rape or incest, or her life itself is threatened, an extremely right wing position.

The Republican Party and Mitt Romney had backed away from support of Akin, but now that he is remaining in the race for the Senate, the question is whether the Republican Party will change its mind and end up supporting Akin’s candidacy financially.

This McCaskill-Akin race could well be the decisive one that determines whether the Democrats keep control of the US Senate, or if the Republicans gain control.

It would seem that McCaskill should win, not only because of the controversy raised by Akin, but because she has done a good job in her one term in the Senate.

But Missouri is an odd state, with strong evangelical roots, and it would be a major shame and embarrassment for the state were they to end up having two right wing Senators at the same time.

The state would lose all respect of political observers who see moderation as the way to get things done in the Senate, and it would be a major step backwards for women’s rights!

So everyone should contribute to this pivotal race, as the key one which could determine the political future in so many ways!

And it is up to Missouri voters to show they are indeed the “Show Me” state, and will not tolerate having an extreme right winger in the Senate, joining Senator Roy Blunt!

Former Senator John Danforth, Senator Richard Lugar, And The Collapse Of The GOP As A Respectable Party! :(

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Former Republican Senator John Danforth of Missouri, a well respected moderate conservative, has denounced the turn of the GOP toward the extreme right Tea Party Movement, and has declared that the Republican Party of history may be lost forever!

Danforth is particularly scathing of the refusal of the Republicans in the Senate to cooperate on the ratification of the START Treaty with the Russian government, an action denounced also by the very respectable and acknowledged expert on foreign policy, Indiana Senator Richard Lugar!

Lugar’s opposition to his own party on the START treaty, and to the Tea Party Movement, has led to a move to try to defeat him in 2012, a move that Danforth bitterly opposes as the end of rational policy and principle by the party that he sees rapidly deteriorating! 🙁

Danforth and Lugar are a few of the rare remnants of the Republican Party which once was a respectable mainstream party, but is rapidly descending into darkness as an extreme right wing, regressive party that is trying to return America to the era of the 1920s or the Gilded Age! 🙁

If Richard Lugar is in trouble, the country is the loser! 🙁