Libertarianism

Rand Paul And Bill Clinton: A Losing Strategy!

Ronald 2 Comments

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul Has decided that he is willing to bring up the controversies surrounding Bill Clinton’s indiscretions a generation ago as his tactic to win the Presidency of the United States in 2016.

This is a strategy that will fail, as it does not dignify Rand Paul to talk about an issue that is dead and gone a long time ago.

Let me make it clear, that this author deplored the behavior of Bill Clinton, and at the time, took the position that the President should resign over his misbehavior, but should NOT be impeached.

Be that as it may, Bill Clinton suffered total humiliation and exposure, was impeached, was found not guilty by the US Senate, finished his term, and has gone on to achieve a level of popularity for a former President unmatched by any in American history, even Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, or Ronald Reagan in their retirement years.

Bill Clinton has done a lot of good with his Clinton Initiative, following the work at good deeds only matched in retirement by former President Jimmy Carter, who has not been as fortunate to be as popular and respected and admired as Bill Clinton.

While his private behavior then, and by rumor even now, is reprehensible, Bill Clinton is no worse than millions of American men, and many Republican and Democratic Congressmen, Senators, and Governors. The difference is that he was a President, but then when one examines the sexual exploits of other Presidents, he is far from unique.

The point is that no matter how much one might condemn his behavior, he did not create any “victims”, as Monica Lewinsky was not a child, was not an innocent, knew precisely what she was doing, wanted to do what she did, and is responsible for her own behavior.

If anything, Rand Paul needs to answer for his voting record, for his statements against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and if one is going to bring up the past, let him explain the wacky behavior and voting record and associations of his libertarian father, former Congressman Ron Paul, with racist and secessionist groups over his long career.

One might say that would be unfair, but would it be any more unfair than to try to harm Hillary Clinton by attacking her husband’s behavior, which has caused much grief for her, behavior which she personally is not responsible for, and for her to have to hear him being called a “sexual predator” by a man who cannot walk in her husband’s shoes in his level of intelligence, accomplishment, and historic role in American history?

John Kerry Makes Rand Paul Look Foolish And Naive!

Ronald 13 Comments

Secretary of State John Kerry “cleaned the clock” of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul in yesterday’s hearing on Syria in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, suggesting that Paul attend secret briefings and become “informed” about the Syrian matter, rather than spout isolationist propaganda.

Anyone watching had to be impressed by Kerry, and appalled by the ignorance and pure stupidity of Rand Paul, who has this vision of being our President!

The fact is that Rand Paul would face vehement opposition within the GOP if he runs for President, and if he, somehow, became the nominee, with his bankrupt libertarian ideology, he would lose in a massive landslide, which might actually be the only way to wipe out of national politics the delusional, crazy ideas not only of Rand Paul, but also of the “godmother” or libertarianism, Ayn Rand, who is also “loved” by Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate in 2012.

What Republican Presidents Have Wrought: The Vietnam War Syndrome And The Iraq War Syndrome!

Ronald 5 Comments

The Republican Party loves to claim that they are the experts, when it comes to American foreign policy, that they are far better than Democrats in executing foreign policy.

But the facts of history tell us otherwise, as witness:

Before America entered World War II. who were some of the most powerful, most influential people advocating isolationism— Republicans such as Senators Robert Taft of Ohio, Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan, Hiram Johnson of California, and Gerald Nye of North Dakota, with the latter two discussed in detail in the author’s book: TWILIGHT OF PROGRESSIVISM: THE WESTERN REPUBLICAN SENATORS AND THE NEW DEAL (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981).

When America entered the escalation stage of the Vietnam War under Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, it was Republicans who backed the President in much greater numbers than Democrats, but even Johnson finally realized the need for America to get out of the war, and decided not to run again in 1968.

Republican President Richard Nixon ran his campaign for the Presidency in 1968, pledging that he would end the Vietnam War expeditiously, and saying he had a “secret plan” to end the war, which soon became evident did not exist, and Nixon made up his plan to end the war as he went along, and it took four long years to end the war, with a heavier loss of soldiers killed and wounded, than had been so under Johnson! Nixon and Henry Kissinger, his National Security Adviser and Secretary of State, misled the American people and lied to them about the plans and strategies to end the war, and it created a feeling of unwillingness to engage in overseas crises as a result, what could be called the Vietnam War Syndrome.

And then under George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the Republican run national government in 2003 lied to us, manipulated us, propagandized us, to begin a war in Iraq, with no plan to get out, and the war dragged on through the second Bush term, and into the Barack Obama Administration. No “weapons of mass destruction” were ever found, and it created an Iraq War Syndrome, which now has made many Americans reluctant to engage in a military action against an outlaw nation, Syria, which has utilized chemical warfare, only the third world leader ever to do so, after Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein!

So the Republican Party and its cynical, corrupt leadership in the 1969-1973 and 2002-2009 periods poisoned the political atmosphere of America, making it more difficult to engage in the shaping of a sane, rational foreign policy that would be in American interests.

And now Rand Paul and his kind, libertarian “Know Nothings”, promote isolationism all over again, back to the image of the GOP in the late 1930s before American entrance into World War II.

The damage that Presidents Richard Nixon and George W. Bush have wrought is massive, and undermining America in 2013 from doing what it must do, react to the massive war crime of the Syrian government!

Barack Obama Must Be A Combination Of Woodrow Wilson, FDR, JFK, George H. W. Bush, And Bill Clinton On Syria!

Ronald 3 Comments

Barack Obama now faces what might be the greatest foreign policy challenge of his Presidency, with the chemical warfare attack by Bashar Al Assad of Syria on his own people.

There are many, including those on the left, who tell him to do nothing, stay out of the Middle East, do not get involved in any reaction to this inhumane method of warfare.

But that would be far worse than intervention, and we cannot allow isolationism, or the lunatic libertarianism of Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky , to control America’s destiny in world affairs.

We as a nation have to be smart, have to be principled, have to be as John Kerry, our brilliant Secretary of State, and could have been President, has demonstrated in his case for intervention!

Barack Obama needs to be a combination of five Presidents in foreign policy:

Woodrow Wilson, in regards to the role of morality and ethics in foreign policy, a crusade for what is right and good, part of the essential nature of the American nation, to want to do what is right.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, in regards to his clear understanding that isolationism was a threat to American security and safety once World War II began, and took the attacks of the isolationists and deflected it excellently.

John F. Kennedy, who showed tremendous courage and principle in the most dangerous moment in world history, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and succeeded in gaining the withdrawal of Soviet missiles.

George H. W. Bush, who demonstrated determination and steadfastness when Iraq invaded Kuwait, making it clear he would not accept anything other than total withdrawal, and had success in that intervention within six weeks in the Persian Gulf War.

Bill Clinton, who despite international opposition, decided to bomb Serbia to force the end of the massacre and war in Kosovo, and succeeded brilliantly.

So Obama must be a combination of Wilson, FDR, JFK, the first Bush, and Bill Clinton, and in so becoming, he is in VERY good company, of Presidents we truly admire for their courage and principles!

Being “chicken”, unwilling to accept the responsibility of reacting to aggression, is NOT a way to greatness, but a retreat from it!

Ted Cruz Repudiates His Canadian Citizenship In Ambition To Be President!

Ronald 7 Comments

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the bull in the China shop in the Republican Party, who has grand ambitions to be President of the United States, has taken quick action to trash his Canadian heritage, having been born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in December 1970.

While technically a citizen of both Canada and the US, due to his mother’s American citizenship, Cruz has now declared that he has no interest in remaining a dual citizen, because he knows that could cause him grief as he seeks to take over the Republican Party. He has already made enemies in the GOP establishment with his vicious attacks on other Republican Senators, as well as the opposition Democrats, the news media, and higher education, including his Harvard Law School background, calling the faculty there a bunch of Marxists, reminding us of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who he, ironically, greatly resembles in appearance, demeanor, and behavior!

Cruz represents the calling card of Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and other malcontents,who wants to take the Republican Party to the extreme far Right, and will take no prisoners!

It is clear by his action on his Canadian citizenship that Cruz is running for President without announcing it this early, and that he will do anything and everything to destroy any GOP opponent, and at this point, his key rival seems to be Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, the son of former Congressman Ron Paul, who inherits the allegiance of many young people who see the father as a god like figure with his libertarian beliefs.

Both Paul and Cruz have the allegiance of the Tea Party Movement, but Cruz cannot be called a libertarian, and the holy war that will ensue between the two will, at this point, likely favor Cruz over Paul.

So at this point, it seems a good bet to believe that Cruz will overcome Paul and also, his fellow Cuban, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and that he will be the Republican Presidential nominee in 2016, at age 45.

His candidacy will draw a lot of attention and controversy, and Cruz will not care how many enemies he makes on his road to being the opponent of Hillary Clinton, his most likely opponent, or any other Democrat who might emerge, including Joe Biden.

And when one looks at the Electoral College math, it is clear that Ted Cruz is likely to be the GOP Presidential nominee, but his chances of becoming our 45th President are next to zero, and that Clinton, Biden, or whoever the Democratic nominee in 2016 is, will win a landslide victory, greater in electoral votes than Barack Obama in 2012!

And part of that great Democratic victory in 2016 will likely include Texas, as the state is moving toward “Blue” status, and it is ironic that Cruz, easily elected in Texas in 2012, will help create the Democratic majority by his personality, confrontational attitude, and refusal to understand that if one insults Mexican Americans, woman, African Americans, labor supporters, environmentalists, and gays, there is no way that his party can ever win back the White House!

So after a smashing defeat, Cruz will be history as a loser, and the GOP will finally, if it has any common sense, return to the moderate mainstream center, or else it will finally be in the dustbins of history after 2016!

The Supreme Court Has Set America Back On Basic Fairness And Justice!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Supreme Court of the United States is a much revered body, but sadly, in recent years, under Chief Justice John Roberts, the concept of America as a nation based on fairness and justice has suffered setbacks!

There is much evidence of this, but two key developments demonstrate how much the Supreme Court has set back progress!

The Citizens United Case of 2010 has allowed the rise of tremendous corporate spending and that by religious and social conservatives, leading to the rise and influence of the Tea Party Movement, and allowing the creation of stalemated, gridlock government under President Barack Obama, with the first time ever situation of a Republican House of Representatives and a Democratic Senate, with the GOP controlling the purse strings of government, and blocking all attempts to create jobs or promote legislation which advances the American nation. Instead, our government is being influenced by anarchists, couched in libertarianism, with the Koch Brothers and other wealthy corporate interests having undue influence on the deterioration of the rights of women, minorities, gays, and labor, along with attacks on any government regulation of the environment!

And the decision in June of this year, negating part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has now allowed many Republican state governments to pass legislation, taking away the basic right of voting on the false concept that voter fraud has been present and widespread, a total lie!

So the rights of minorities, the elderly, poor people, and college students are being curbed, and that is why the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder is bringing laws suits under the curbed Voting Rights Act, trying to reverse the discriminatory legislation on voting in many Southern states, Midwest States, and Great Plains States, all designed to fix the results so that likely Democratic voters will be denied the basic tenet of democracy, the right to vote for one’s government leaders!

It took until the early 20th century under Theodore Roosevelt to gain legislation to take power over government away from the corporations of the Gilded Age, and it took until Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s to gain legislation so that all Americans could vote without discrimination!

Now in just three and a half years, the Republican dominated Supreme Court has rejected what TR and LBJ worked so hard to accomplish!

So the battle to overcome the Supreme Court right wing direction is on, and we cannot afford to allow the Court to take away our democracy–a government of, by, and for the people!

The Coming Battle For The GOP Presidential Nomination: Marco Rubio Vs. Ted Cruz, With Rand Paul As Wild Card!

Ronald 86 Comments

It is becoming increasingly clear that the battle for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2016 is going to be between Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, with Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky being a “wild card”!

The possibility of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, or Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to be the nominee seems very distant.

So it will be two Hispanic (Cuban) Senators battling one another, one trying to work with Democrats on an immigration reform bill, and the other on the warpath against all Democrats, as well as Rubio himself, unwilling to make any deals or promote any cooperation with the “enemy” And hoping to benefit from the battle between Rubio and Cruz is Rand Paul, who with his libertarian bent, will have a major problem attracting many conservatives, including the neoconservatives and the Establishment Republicans of Wall Street.

In the end, it will not matter, as no Republican can overcome the Electoral College advantage of the Democrats, as outlined yesterday in a blog entry.

And the concept that Cuban American Senators, who represent three and a half percent of Hispanics and Latinos, will be able to convince large numbers of Mexican Americans, who are 65 percent of all those with Spanish heritage, to vote Republican, is laughable.

So it will be an interesting sideshow, the battle among Rubio, Cruz and Paul, but at the end, we are likely to have Hillary Clinton as our next President!

The Takeover Of Major News Media By The Koch Brothers A Menace To Journalism!

Ronald 23 Comments

Charles and David Koch, the infamous Koch Brothers, who promote libertarianism to the extreme, wanting no government regulation of business, and sponsors of the Tea Party Movement, as their dad was the promoter of the John Birch Society in the 1960s, are now attempting to buy up a whole group of newspapers that are in financial trouble, and need buyers to survive.

These newspapers include:

The Los Angeles Times
The Chicago Tribune
The Baltimore Sun
The Orlando Sentinel
The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel
The Hartford Courant

These six papers and three smaller ones are all under Tribune ownership, which is in receivership, and it seems likely that these right wing extremists will come to control the fourth and ninth largest newspapers in the nation (Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune), as well as the others, and in so doing, will destroy American journalism as we know it!

Added on to the control of Fox News Channel and Rupert Murdoch over the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, it means we will see a growing extreme rightward tilt in news coverage, and the end of independent,, muckraking journalism over time!

This Koch Brothers takeover will deal a death blow to the distinguished field of news coverage, and all of us will be the losers, if that event, which seems likely, occurs!

The Conservative Political Action Conference: A Bunch Of Retreads And Future Losers!

Ronald 10 Comments

Conservatives are in the third of four days of their annual Conservative Political Action Conference, and it is quite an event, a circus of retreads and future losers, who fail to see that the nation has rejected their ideology when it is presented to them in Senate races, and only holding on to power in the House of Representatives because of gerrymandered districts created by the Tea Party uprising of 2010, which led to a large number of Republican governors and state legislatures at the precisely correct time to affect the shaping of House districts for the ten year cycle following the census figures.

The Tea Party movement has had its heyday, and there are already signs of its future demise, although they will persist in some rural districts in the House, and have their Senators, including Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul, all ambitious to be President of the United States, but none of them should be delusional that they will actually be the next President, while they are all fighting to outdo each other three years ahead of 2016!

Attention at this conference is given to such retreads as Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and Newt Gingrich.

Also, such losers as Wayne La Pierre, Grover Norquist and the usual right wing talk show hosts, including Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, are part of the “distinguished” speakers spewing forth their divisiveness.

And the conservatives are making clear that they will not budge in any form on the issue of gay rights, immigration reform,their “traditional” view of women being submissive to men, and refusal to separate science from the influence of religion!

There are differences on foreign policy between the libertarians and the neoconservatives, however, and any suggestion of moderation on ANY issue has led to Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell being denied an invitation to speak.

The ultimate reality is that it does not matter what happens at the CPAC, as it is like Don Quixote battling the windmill! The American people are NOT going to elect any of these “clowns”, even those who seem more “moderate”, such as Christie, to the White House in 2016. The Republicans are fighting a civil war, primarily over who shall represent them in 2016, but it is all for naught!

The next President will, assuredly, be a Democrat—whether Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Martin O’Malley, Andrew Cuomo, Elizabeth Warren, Mark Warner, Amy Klobuchar or someone else not yet known!

“Don’t Drone Me, Bro”—The Self Destruction Of Rand Paul AND Ted Cruz!

Ronald 2 Comments

When Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky spoke yesterday at the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, a supporter yelled: “Don’t drone me, Bro”, referring to Paul’s 13 hour filibuster demanding an answer from President Obama that he would never use a drone on an American citizen on American soil, a stunt which gave Senator Paul a lot of attention, and led to his promoting the idea of the likelihood of his Presidential candidacy in 2016.

Meanwhile, Texas Senator Ted Cruz showed just what a bully, and an arrogant, overbearing person he is, making himself very unpopular even among fellow Republican Senators with his loony absolute interpretation of the Second Amendment, and showing lack of respect for Senator Diane Feinstein, who lived through the carnage of the murder of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in 1978. The fact that even Justice Antonin Scalia has stated that there are limits to the Second Amendment does not phase Senator Cruz, as he fancies himself to be a “constitutionalist”!

Both of these Republican Senators fancy that the nation is ready for their looniness—Paul, the libertarian, who wants to bring about a utopian world of little government in people’s lives; and Cruz, using Joseph McCarthy type demagogic techniques to create turmoil and mistrust, and also to throw a “firebomb” as a method to grab for more power and influence!

Both Senators are upstart freshmen, who are showing total ignorance and total disrespect for the institution of the Senate, and their style and methods are designed to promote their own ambition, but will have the effect over time, if not fought bitterly by sane elements, to destroy the Republican Party and its long, much of the time, respectable history and leadership!

The nation is NOT going to accept either Senator Paul or Senator Cruz as their Commander in Chief, as they both, in different and competing ways, are promoting anarchy and chaos in the political arena, and are both VERY dangerous!