Mike Pence

Donald Trump Is Criminal In So Many Ways!

The January 6, 2021 House Committee Hearings make it clear to anyone who is sane, that Donald Trump is criminal in so many ways!

Trump was willing to see his Vice President Mike Pence assassinated by a mob!

Trump was willing to see mass loss of life of members of Congress, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi!

Trump was willing to pressure state legislators to promote a false narrative on a stolen election, “The Big Lie”, and used the power of his office to intimidate many, although there was, thankfully, pushback!

Trump was willing to intimidate and terrorize election workers, and destroy their sense of safety!

Trump was willing to promote extremists against Republicans who dared to challenge anything he said or did at any time in his Presidency and since he left office!

Face the facts:

Trump is a criminal, and could have been part of Organized Crime!

Trump is a seditionist and traitor, inspiring the US Capitol attack, and defying constitutional norms!

Trump is an evil force, undermining American democracy, and incites his supporters, which include anti semites, nativists, racists, white supremacists, misogynists and homophobes!

Donald Trump and all of his collaborators need to be held accountable legally, and face the consequences of trial, conviction, and imprisonment, as a lesson to any future authoritarian elements, who would wish to emulate his actions and behaviors!

Donald Trump, The Criminal Grifter Of Gullible, Naive Americans!

In the same vein as yesterday’s post, the second session of the January 6 House Committee hearings demonstrated that Donald Trump is a criminal grifter, appealing to gullible, naive Americans to send him money to fight what he called “The Big Steal”, that he won the Presidential Election of 2020.

Instead, that myth is the “Big Lie”, and it is now clear that people around Trump told him, conclusively, that he had not won the election, but Trump kept on lying, and spread the hysteria that led to the January 6 Insurrection at the US Capitol.

This caused loss of lives of Capitol Police; massive number of injuries among these loyal servants of the Capitol; destruction of the center of American government; and threats to Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and all of the Congressmen and Senators at the US Capitol that day.

This is clearly the example of Donald Trump, the crooked businessman, making money off the supposed election results, with at least $250 million raised, and no accountability as to what has happened to that illegal fundraising amount.

This is criminal activity, as everything else is regarding Donald Trump, and the Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland are examining what the January 6 House Committee has gathered as evidence.

Hopefully, this will lead to criminal charges against Donald Trump, as no one, not even a former President, should be immune to prosecution for crimes committed in office or out of office!

Donald Trump Had No Concern About The Threats To The Life Of Mike Pence!

It is stunning and hard to fathom that a President would have no concern about the threats to the life of his Vice President.

Yes, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr did not get along.

Neither did John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun get along.

And also, Andrew Jackson and Calhoun were at odds.

But never has a President welcomed harm on his Vice President, as Donald Trump did toward Mike Pence on January 6, 2021!

He showed support for the lynching, the hanging, of Mike Pence!

This is incomprehensible, that any political leader would not be concerned, and loyal to those who work around him!

How could any decent human being, no matter what his political and ideological loyalties, support and continue to excuse Donald Trump for his lack of empathy, decency, compassion, toward even his own Vice President?

But Donald Trump has no regard for human life, and this will be exposed by the January 6 US House Committee, as it starts holding public hearings on this Thursday evening, June 9!

Donald Trump needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, as a seditionist, a traitor, a criminal, whose lust for power encouraged massive lawlessness and destruction at the US Capitol!

Ten Alternatives To Donald Trump Begin To Emerge In Republican Party

It is now clear that Donald Trump will have challengers emerging in the Republican Party, those who have broken with him and are not afraid to challenge him for the Presidential nomination of the party in 2024.

These include the following ten individuals:

Former Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse
Utah Senator Mitt Romney
Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger
Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley of South Carolina
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu

Possibility Arises That Neither Joe Biden Nor Donald Trump May Run In 2024

With the complex issues faced by Joe Biden in the Presidency, and with the issue of cognitive alertness becoming more discussed regarding both him and Donald Trump, the possibility has arisen that neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump may run for President in 2024.

So the possibility of a massive number of Democrats and Republicans announcing for the Presidency, once the midterm elections are done this November, is starting to be discussed.

There could be more than 20 members of both parties deciding to take a stab at the White House, and there is no way to project who might have an advantage on either side.

Ordinarily, one would think Vice President Kamala Harris and former Vice President Mike Pence would be in the forefront, but to believe either of them would have an edge is to go out on a limb, as it would seem others would have an advantage.

Of course, if Kamala Harris was to succeed to the Presidency during the term, she would have the edge for 2024 as Lyndon B. Johnson had in 1964 after succeeding John F. Kennedy suddenly in November 1963.

But unless that unfortunate situation were to occur, all bets are off for 2024 if neither Biden nor Trump run!

Future Of Former President And Former Vice President Campaigning Against Each Other–Trump, Pence!

This weekend, former President Donald Trump was in Ohio campaigning for his selected endorsement of J D Vance for the Republican nomination for the US Senate, and former Vice President Mike Pence was in Iowa testing the waters for a Presidential run.

It seems clear that Trump and Pence are very likely to challenge each other and numerous others for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024, an event that has not happened since 1940, when Vice President John Nance Garner challenged President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the Presidential nomination.

Fireworks are likely, as Pence will continue, rightfully, to defend his upholding of the Constitution in accepting the Electoral College votes on the day of the January 6, 2021 Insurrection.

That was when Pence, personally, was threatened by the mobs encouraged by Trump to attack the US Capitol to try to prevent the ratification of Joe Biden as the 46th President.

It will be fascinating to see the rhetoric employed by Trump and Pence against each other!

Republican Party, 168 Years Old Today, Undermined By Competing Factions, Some Of Them Extremist In Nature

The Republican Party was born on this day in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1854, 168 years ago.

The future of the party is in danger, due to these massive splits.

Among the members of these six groups below are the following:

Trumpism—including House members Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, Jim Jordan, Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz; Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz; and Governors Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, and Kristi Noem.

Anti Trumpism—including House members Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Anthony Gonzalez; Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse; and Governors Larry Hogan, Charlie Baker, and Phil Scott.

Christian Right—Mike Pence, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee

Libertarian conservatives—Senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul; Congressman Thomas Massie

Neoconservatives—George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, John Bolton

Moderates—Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Charlie Baker, Larry Hogan, Phil Scott, Chris Sununu

The hope for the long range is that the Anti Trumpists and Moderates will prevail, as otherwise, the Republican Party is an authoritarian, Fascist oriented party, abandoning the principles of the party at its founding!

The Nightmare Battle For The Republican Presidential Nomination In 2024

What a nightmare the Republican Party faces in 2024, as trying to find a nominee who is decent, competent, and NOT tied to the disaster of Donald Trump is a long haul!

We begin with Donald Trump himself, who is rapidly losing support, but still has clout in the party, even though he is actually a cancer destroying the image and reputation of the party of Lincoln, TR,Ike, Reagan and George H. W. Bush!

Then we have former Vice President Mike Pence, whose only good deed was counting the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021 properly and correctly, but there is no way imaginable that he could win the Republican Presidential nomination, and his religiosity is a real turn off to moderate voters.

Then there is a slimmed down former Secretary of State and Central Intelligence Agency Head Mike Pompeo, but his admiration of Vladimir Putin insures he is not going anywhere!

Then we have former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who once had stature and respect, but has lost all of that reputation being so much a lackey to Donald Trump, and at the same time, changing her mind regularly on the former President

Then, we have Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, all of whom are competing with each other to be further Right Wing than the others, including warring on truth, history, racial justice, women’s rights, and gay rights, as well as attacking the concept of masks and vaccinations during the COVID 19 Pandemic.

Florida is unique in that it has three Republicans all ambitious enough to think they should be President, including DeSantis, but also Senators Rick Scott (involved in Medicare Fraud), and Marco Rubio, who was a major critic of Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican competition for the Presidency, but has, like most Republican officeholders caved in and given up all principles in bowing to Trump throughout his Presidency, and refusing to strongly condemn the January 6, 2021 Insurrection!

The Senate is full of Presidential wannabes, besides Scott and Rubio, including Insurrectionist promoter Josh Hawley of Missouri, who put up his fist in support on January 6; Tom Cotton of Arkansas; Rand Paul of Kentucky; Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Ted Cruz of Texas; Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; and Tim Scott of South Carolina.

One can add to that list Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

There are also clear anti Trump Republicans, including Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger; Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney; Maryland Governor Larry Hogan; Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse; and Utah Senator Mitt Romney.

Possibility That Neither Donald Trump Nor Joe Biden Will Be On Presidential Ballot In 2024

The possibility now exists that neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden will be on the Presidential ballot in 2024.

There are good reasons for this scenario.

Joe Biden would be 82 a few weeks after the Presidential Election of 2024, and Donald Trump would be past 78 and a half at the time of the inauguration, making both of them the oldest Presidential contenders in American history.

Donald Trump faces multiple lawsuits, and the strong potential for prosecution, both criminal and civil, which could harm any chance of him being the Republican nominee.

And there are many conservatives and Republicans who would want to be rid of the menace of Donald Trump.

Joe Biden’s age, and the hints of possible cognitive tests being bandied about by critics, makes it harder for him to consider a second term, along with all of the problems he is dealing with, which might undermine his future, particularly if the Democrats lose the House of Representatives, and even, potentially, the US Senate.

The feeling of a fresh start, and younger candidates is very appealing to many Americans.

If it turns out that neither Trump nor Biden, and even Vice Presidents Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, are passed by as alternatives, which could be a possibility, then we would have a scenario rarely seen in US history, of Presidential tickets that have neither the President nor Vice President having been nominated for either office.

The only elections since 1824 where no one nominated was ever on a Presidential ballot before being chosen are the following 12 elections out of a total of 50 elections:

1844 election of James K. Polk
1852 election of Franklin Pierce
1868 election of Ulysses S. Grant
1876 election of Rutherford B. Hayes
1880 election of James A. Garfield
1884 election of Grover Cleveland
1896 election of William McKinley
1920 election of Warren G. Harding
1928 election of Herbert Hoover
1952 election of Dwight D. Eisenhower
2008 election of Barack Obama
2016 election of Donald Trump

The Vice Presidency A Thankless Job!

The American Vice Presidency has been described as “stand by equipment”, as there is no great power in the office.

It is a frustrating office, as any Vice President must avoid seeming to take away attention from the President.

If anyone was to ask many Vice Presidents, if not all, how they felt about the position, the likelihood is that the response would be unprintable!

Ask Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Nelson Rockefeller, George H. W. Bush, Al Gore, and Mike Pence, as just a few examples!

They would all have plenty to complain about, if able to openly express their feelings and thoughts!

And one can be sure that Kamala Harris already has similar feelings and thoughts!