Kelly Ayotte

Advancements On Gay Rights, But Plenty Of Struggle Ahead

Ronald 4 Comments

The vote of the US Senate yesterday to agree to overcome a potential filibuster, and allow a final vote on ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) is a great move forward on civil rights.

The proposed law, discussed for many years, would ban employers from firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating against workers or job applicants based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The procedural vote was 61-30 with 54 Democrats (all but Claire McCaskill, who was not present), and 7 Republicans (Susan Collins, Kelly Ayotte, Dean Heller, Mark Kirk,. Rob Portman, Orrin Hatch, and Pat Toomey) in favor.

So the bill will pass the Senate in the next few days, but disturbing is that 30 Republicans had the nerve to vote for continued discrimination, and 8 Republicans were not recorded as voting.

It will be interesting to see if any of these 38 Republicans will vote for the final bill, particularly such Senators as John McCain and Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and John Thune, who at times have shown some moderation as compared to most in the Senate Republican caucus.

At the same time, Illinois moved today toward final acceptance of gay marriage, making that state the 15th to have gay marriage, going into effect by the summer of 2014.

At the same time, other states seem to be moving in the same direction, including Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, although at different measurements of progress.

Regarding the ENDA legislation, IF Speaker John Boehner allowed an open vote, the legislation would become law, with most Democrats and enough Republicans to make it the law of the land , but Boehner has indicated that he will not allow a vote, which, if it is pursued all the way, would stop any chance to do what is morally right to do, stop job discrimination, So pressure must be brought to convince him to change his mind, and allow a vote even without a majority of his caucus.

14 Republican Senators And The Future Of The GOP On Immigration Reform

Ronald 1 Comment

A total of 14 courageous, principled Republican Senators voted for the immigration reform bill which creates a path to citizenship over 13 years; doubles the number of troops at the Mexican border; spends twice as much on border security; and builds a 700 mile fence between Mexico and the United States.

32 Republican Senators voted against the bill in the US Senate, with a final vote of 68-32, all Democrats included in the majority.

The roll of honor of GOP Senators includes:

Marco Rubio of Florida
John McCain of Arizona
Jeff Flake of Arizona
Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire
Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
John Hoeven of North Dakota
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Bob Corker of Tennessee
Susan Collins of Maine
Orrin Hatch of Utah
Dean Heller of Nevada
Mark Kirk of Illinois
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Jeff Chiesa of New Jersey

These 14 Senators realize they will have their head handed to them by the Tea Party and right wing talk show hosts, but they did the right and moral thing by supporting reform.

Sadly, the other 32 Republican Senators and the majority of the House Republicans are not going to go along, and it will be up to Speaker of the House John Boehner, whether he will sacrifice his Speakership to do the right thing, promote passage of the Senate immigration reform bill, which is very rational and reasonable, and gives the Republicans a chance to gain some Hispanic and Latino support down the road!

Without this legislation, and maybe even with it, with the attack on women’s rights and gay rights, the Republican Party long term future is doomed!

The Courage Of Pro NRA Senators Who Voted For The Universal Background Checks Bill

Ronald 8 Comments

Attention has been paid to those Pro NRA Senators who refused to support the Universal Background Checks bill, and who now have suffered drops in public opinion polls in their states, including Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, Ohio Senator Rob Portman, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, Nevada Senator Dean Heller, and New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte.

Not as much attention has been paid to the Senators of both parties who did not let their basically Pro NRA viewpoints stand in the way of common sense and reality.

These include:

Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania
Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico
Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana
Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Senator Jon Tester of Montana
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia

And shame on Democratic Senators Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Nick Begich of Alaska, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Max Baucus of Montana for voting against the Universal Background Checks, and a salute to Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mark Kirk of Illinois, who joined Pat Toomey in support of the legislation!

The Republican “Diversity” Primary Or Jeb Bush For President?

Ronald 3 Comments

It seems more and more likely that the Republican Party will do their best to put a person of diversity status, either ethnically or gender, on their 2016 Presidential ticket as the only way to have a chance to win the White House.

This “diversity” primary contest for being on the national ticket would include:

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina
Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire
Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Senator Susan Collins of Maine
Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana
Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina
Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico
Governor Brian Sandoval of Nevada
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

So overall, there are seven Senators, four Governors, three Congresswomen well known enough, and Condoleezza Rice for the Republicans to choose from to have a “diversity” nominee for President or Vice President.

And when one looks at the list, it is clear that the only “real” choices are Rubio, Cruz, Ayotte, Jindal, Haley, and Rice, as a member of the House has not been nominated since 1880 (James Garfield), and the other choices are far less known, and come from smaller states in population, which undermines their candidacy. And Murkowski and Collins are far too “Moderate” to be the nominee of a right wing Republican Party!

But Rice is highly unlikely to be interested, although easily the most qualified of the six who could be nominated. Jindal and Haley have come across as mean spirited, uncaring Governors on the subject of immigration and health care. Ayotte has not distinguished herself by connecting to John McCain and Lindsey Graham as a “replacement” for Joe Lieberman. Cruz, being born in Canada, will create the issue of his eligibility to run for President, and his use of “McCarthyism” strategy against Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, and his basic aggressive style after less than two months in office will not do him well in a Presidential campaign.

So Marco Rubio, with all of his “warts” and shortcomings, stands out as the best “diversity” candidate, with his coming from Florida, the fourth largest state, and the largest state in play in a Presidential campaign, being a plus!

But it could be that being from Florida is also a plus for former Governor Jeb Bush, who if only he could change his last name, would be the likely best choice for his party.

It could all come down to a final race between former Governor Jeb Bush, whose wife is Mexican American and speaks excellent Spanish, and Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban American a full generation younger than Jeb Bush!

Twenty Women In The United States Senate In The 113th Congress: All Time High!

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The 113th Congress will have TWENTY women, the highest number in American history!

The 112th Congress had seventeen women, 12 Democrats and 5 Republicans.

The 113th Congress will have 16 Democrats and 4 Republicans, with Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, both Republicans, retiring!

Five new women will join the Senate—Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts,.Tammy Baldwin of WIsconsin, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, with Fischer being the lone Republican. Fifteen women Senators will remain, including three Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The twelve returning Democratic women include: Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Diane Feinstein of California, Barbara Boxer of California, Parry Murray of Washington, and Maria Cantwell of Washington.

Also, three states have both Senators being women—New Hampshire, California, and Washington!

And to top it off, New Hampshire not only has two women Senators, but also both House members are women, and the new Governor is a woman, the first state to have an all female representation in Congress and the Governorship!

How far America has come as we enter the year 2013!

Susan Rice: Perplexing Problem For Barack Obama

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If UN Ambassador Susan Rice is chosen to be Secretary of State, with the Libya controversy still boiling, due to Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte, and Susan Collins having problems with her, Barack Obama could have a major headache at a time when he needs to choose his battles.

But if Obama decided to pick John Kerry instead, it will look as if he is caving in to GOP opposition, particularly after his very strong defense of Rice in a press conference.

So Obama has pluses and minuses in this Susan Rice matter, and it will be interesting to see what path he takes.

The Susan Rice Controversy: Much Ado Over Nothing, And Making John McCain, Lindsey Graham And Kelly Ayotte Look Ridiculous!

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The continuing controversy over UN Ambassador Susan Rice and her statements on Sunday talk shows about the events in Benghazi, Libya, which led to the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others on September 11, has been blown so out of proportion that it borders on the ridiculous at this point!

A Fox News Channel and Mitt Romney inspired incident, it has led Senator John McCain to look like a total fool; Senator Lindsey Graham to look as if he is seeking for an issue to hold off Tea Party opposition to his reelection in South Carolina in 2014; and Senator Kelly Ayotte to come across as a freshman woman Senator who is hitching on the issue to make herself noticed, but in an embarrassing way that will trivialize her hope to become a national figure, after she was passed over by Mitt Romney to be his running mate for Vice President. Meanwhile, Senator Joe Lieberman, usually part of the “gang of three”, but now retiring, has decided NOT to join this cry for Rice’s head, showing some real intelligence as he leaves the Senate, but with Ayotte replacing him, to her degradation!

For anyone to be held so accountable for what he or she says on Sunday talk shows as Susan Rice is being held, is totally off the wall, and by that standard, Dick Cheney would have been impeached and removed from the Vice Presidency; Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell would have been drummed out of office, or in the case of Rice, denied the chance to be Secretary of State; and McCain and Graham themselves would be forced out of the Senate for past incorrect, inaccurate, or stupid comments!

Susan Rice is perfectly qualified to be Secretary of State, and instead has been pilloried in a manner unbecoming her distinction, her education and academic accomplishments, and her distinguished public career. Her education and brilliance, when compared to the measly such accomplishments of McCain, Graham, and Ayotte, makes them all look more like the jealous competitors for academic excellence who decide to downgrade their successful competitor by spreading innuendo, rumors, character assassination, and ridicule, because they have nothing else to offer.

All three Senators should apologize profusely to Susan Rice, stop their bull “feathers”, and get down to serious business serving their constituents, and stop seeking the limelight. And if Kelly Ayotte, the only one with serious long term potential, wishes to be seen seriously, she had better abandon these two Senators past their prime, and stake out her own identity, or become totally irrelevant, and a “joke” in Senate circles!

Speculation Seriously Begins On 2016 Presidential Competition

Ronald 2 Comments

Eight weeks away from the Presidential Election of 2012, but with the obvious trend toward Barack Obama emerging, political pundits are starting to speculate on who might compete for the Democratic and Republican Presidential nominations in 2016, when if Barack Obama is reelected in 2012, we will be certain to have a new President.

The field of potential nominees is long in both parties. Among those being discussed are the following:

Democrats

Vice President Joe Biden from Delaware
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from New York
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill
Virginia Senator Mark Warner
Newark New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker
Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren

Republicans

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Florida Senator Marco Rubio
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul
Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
South Dakota Senator John Thune

So there are, theoretically, 12 Democrats and 14 Republicans who can be seen now as possible competitors for the Presidential nominations, but of course, some of these conceivable candidacies are based on election results yet to occur, including whether Senators Claire McCaskill, Scott Brown, and Lindsay Graham are reelected, the first two this year, and Graham in 2014; whether Cory Booker runs for New Jersey Governor and defeats Chris Christie, with the result eliminating one of those two candidacies; whether Elizabeth Warren can defeat Scott Brown, which would eliminate one or the other of those two candidacies; and whether the “old timers”—Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Jeb Bush—decide to run or stay out of the race, leaving the battle for the nominations to the “new generation” of leadership that is emerging in both political parties.

As of now, there is plenty of diversity in the potential race, with the following statistics:

7 women in the race–Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand, Claire McCaskill, Elizabeth Warren for the Democrats, and Nikki Haley and Kelly Ayotte for the Republicans.
2 African Americans in the race—Deval Patrick and Cory Booker for the Democrats.
1 Hispanic-Latino in the race—Marco Rubio for the Republicans.
2 Asian Americans in the race (both of India heritage)—Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley for the Republicans.

On the Democratic side, there are three potential candidates from New York—Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand; one from New Jersey (Cory Booker); one from Delaware (Joe Biden); one from Maryland (Martin O’Malley); two from Massachusetts (Deval Patrick and Elizabeth Warren)–a total of eight of the 12 potential candidates from the Northeast, with one from the South (Mark Warner of Virginia); two from the Midwest (Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Claire McCaskill of Missouri); and one from the West (Brian Schweitzer of Montana).

On the Republican side, there are four potential candidates from the Northeast—Chris Christie of New Jersey, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania; seven from the South and border states—Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio of Florida, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and Rand Paul of Kentucky; and three from the Midwest—Paul Ryan and Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Thune of South Dakota.

Additionally, there are many Catholics running, startling when one considers that this nation has only had one Catholic President (John F. Kennedy), and one Catholic Vice President (Joe Biden).

Also, the Democrats have four Governors, one Mayor, and seven former or sitting or potential Senators on their list; while the Republicans have six Governors or former Governors, seven Senators, and one Congressman on their list.

Speculation starting already makes the 2016 Presidential race seem ever closer even though it will not begin in earnest until mid to late 2014, and particularly so after the midterm elections of 2014!

The Right Wing Push For Congressman Paul Ryan As Vice Presidential Nominee

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Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is being pushed by right wing forces, including the Wall Street Journal and the National Review, as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, as the time nears for the announcement of who will be the former Massachusetts Governor’s Number Two!

Ryan is very young (42), handsome, articulate, and willing to get into the fray, as he is an ideologist, out to privatize Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, therefore dramatically changing American economic and social policy. His budget plan, drawn up as House Budget Committee Chairman, is highly controversial.

But for a man like Romney who emphasizes the private sector, Ryan is just the opposite, as his entire career has been in government, a contradiction of what Romney thinks is his own advantage over other politicians.

If Ryan is picked, he would be the fourth Vice Presidential nominee of the GOP who would be extremely young, as compared to the Presidential candidate, an interesting scenario, as Richard Nixon was 40, more than 22 years younger than Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, and Dan Quayle was 41, more than 22 years younger than George H. W. Bush in 1988. Ryan at 42 is also more than 22 years younger than Mitt Romney. Of course, Sarah Palin was 28 years younger than John McCain in 2008 at age 44, the all time difference in age.

Of course Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida are almost a year and a half younger than Ryan, at age 41, so would be actually 24 years younger than Romney, were they to be chosen.

The question that also arises is whether Romney really wants a strong willed, outspoken man to be his running mate, since he loves to be in charge of everything he runs, without question. Who would he be most comfortable with is certainly a factor in who he chooses.

The gut feeling is that either he goes with Ryan as a bold pick, an ideological pick, hoping to benefit from the clear cut alternative to what Barack Obama represents, or surprises everyone by selecting a woman, such as Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, a swing state and a pitch to women, similar to what John McCain did with Sarah Palin in 2008. Ayotte, while certainly better than Palin, would still be a controversial pick, as her total experience in government is extremely limited.

Picking Senator Rob Portman of Ohio or former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty would make more sense long term, but would be boring, and would not please the ideological right!

We will learn a lot about Mitt Romney when he picks his running mate in the next few days, already a long time overdue!

General David Petraeus As Vice President? Why Would He Do It?

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Rumors are flying that four star General David Petraeus, presently head of the Central Intelligence Agency, and formerly engaged in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and seen as a national hero, might agree to resign his position in government to run as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate.

Certainly, if Petraeus did so, it would electrify Mitt Romney’s candidacy, and give him a real shot at winning the White House over President Barack Obama.

But although Petraeus is registered Republican, it is hard to imagine him giving up his responsible position in the government for the Vice Presidency.

Yes, Petraeus could be an active Vice President, and would certainly add stature to Romney in the area of foreign policy, national security, and defense, in which Romney has no background at all.

But despite that, Petraeus, having worked with Barack Obama very closely, and with the understanding that the two men have high regard and respect for each other, it is inconceivable that Petraeus would agree to run against the man, who, technically, has been his boss.

And the question of who would replace Petraeus, with his depth of knowledge and expertise, is also one to consider, and to imagine Petraeus really doing this, considering it is still a long shot that Romney would win the Presidency, is hard to conceptualize.

We will know in less than a week what Romney is doing, but again consider the likelihood of Paul Ryan or Kelly Ayotte as more likely, with Rob Portman or Tim Pawlenty as safer choices and alternatives!