Mitch McConnell

US Senate Races Crucial For Both Democrats And Republicans In 2022

As in every even year, the US Senate faces one third of its membership facing election contests this November.

Six Senators are retiring, five Republican (Richard Shelby of Alabama, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Rob Portman of Ohio, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania), and one Democrat (Patrick Leahy of Vermont).

Besides these six open seats, 28 other Senators are running for reelection, with a total of 20 Republican seats up, and 14 Democrats.

This should give the Democrats the advantage in gaining seats, and if even one seat is added, the Democrats will have control, and if two seats are gained, the unreliability of Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia will not have as much impact and influence in holding up Democratic Party goals for legislation.

On the other hand, if the Republicans gain just one seat, Mitch McConnell becomes Majority Leader, and this will hamper the remainder of the Joe Biden Presidency in this term.

The best hopes for the Democrats are to win Ohio with Congressman Tim Ryan, who was a Presidential contender in 2020; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; Wisconsin; and Florida, where Marco Rubio faces challenge from Congresswoman Val Demings.

THe best hopes for the Republicans are to win Arizona, where Mark Kelly faces a tough fight; Georgia, where Reverend Ralphael Warnock has a serious challenge; Nevada, where Catherine Cortez Masto has a close race; and New Hampshire, where Maggie Hassan has a challenging race.

Republicans Divided Over January 6 Insurrection Defense By Republican National Committee!

It is interesting how Republicans are splitting around the January 6 Insurrection defense (legitimate political discourse) of the Republican National Committee!

Mitch McConnell being critical, along with Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Larry Hogan, and others on one side are challenged by Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and a multitude of others on the crazy side!

Whether one agrees with the former group on every issue, they are the only hope for the Republican Party to survive, and the lifeline is getting weaker!

There must be a serious uprising against Donald Trump soon, or else there IS no future for the party of Lincoln, TR, Ike, and Reagan!

The best bet is that the “dark side” will win out, and a new “Conservative” Party will have to form as an alternative to the Democratic Party in the future!

Kevin McCarthy A Total Sycophant To Lawbreaker Donald Trump: Disqualifies Him For Speaker Of The House!

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has revealed himself as a a total sycophant to lawbreaker and criminal Donald Trump, and this should disqualify him to become Speaker of the House of Representatives!

McCarthy has accepted the Republican National Committee’s description of the horrors of the US Capitol January 6, 2021 Insurrection as “legitimate political discourse”, despite the reality of the death, injuries and destruction incurred that day by US Capitol Police dedicated to the protection of the pillar of American democracy, and all who work in that revered institution.

McCarthy has sold his soul for his ambition, and it will scar his name forever in history, sharing a last name already infamous with the demaogue of the Red Scare, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, not a relative, but forever condemned by all decent, sane people!

If the nation is so unfortunate that the Republican Party manages to win the majority for the 118th Congress, the likelihood is that despite McCarthy’s obsequiousness toward Trump, he will be challenged by others for the Speakership, who will feel that he is not obseqious enough. This includes Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, who might very well face prosecution on his own, as if anything, he is more dangerous to American democracy and the rule of law than even Kevin McCarthy!

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for all of his disgraceful public record, has taken a different tack and is NOT trying to dismiss the events of January 6, 2021, and has denounced the Republican National Committee statement of “legitimate political discourse”.

So Kevin McCarthy is going down a path of self destruction, and potentially, federal charges of undermining the Constitution of the United States!

50-50 US Senate Massive Crisis If One Democrat Is Sick Or Were To Pass Away!

The news that New Mexico freshman Senator Ben Ray Lujan, age 49, one of the 12 youngest Senators, has suffered a stroke and will need to recover, is a shock to the reality of the massive crisis that exists if a Democrat is sick as he is, or were to pass away.

The Senate has become an older body in recent years, and with seven Senators over 80 and 30 Senators in their 70s, it is a very delicate situation if any Senator of either party is indisposed or was to die.

It means, for now, that action on even the Supreme Court nominee will likely have to be delayed as Lujan recovers, with all good wishes from everyone, but the thought that one of the older Senators in the Democratic Party could suddenly die, could lead to Mitch McConnell and the Republicans taking over the Senate before the election results of 2022 are in!

The average age of Senators is about 63 and 58 for the House of Representatives.

And the top three leaders in the House–Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn–are all in their early 80s, as is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is 80 this month of February.

And of course, Joe Biden is 79, and so many other key figures in American national government are in their 70s and 80s!

So the aging of American government is a major threat to stability!

Senator Lindsey Graham: A Toady To Donald Trump, Who John McCain Would Condemn And More!

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has long been controversial in so many ways, but when his good friend, former Arizona Senator John McCain, passed away in 2018, the world witnessed a man who had totally lost all credibility, after being a massive critic of Donald Trump.

It is embarrassing to see the denuncations of Graham regarding Trump, followed by total obsequiousness to Trump since McCain’s death.

Even when Trump continued to denounce John McCain in the years since his death, Graham had nothing to say.

It is clear to any intelligent person that if McCain was still alive and in the Senate, he would have, at least symbolically, been motivated to slap Graham front and back and in the head, for his traitorous behavior!

And now, Graham says unless Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky makes obedience to Trump a priority, that Graham will vote against McConnell remaining as the leader of the party, whether minority or majority status!

As much as McConnell has been a disgrace and a disaster as Republican leader, he still has enough self dignity that he will not be likely to bend to Donald Trump.

And if push comes to shove, at this time, it would seem that the Republican caucus would NOT join Graham in replacing McConnell as their Senate leader!

Joe Manchin May Have Destroyed The “Build Back Better” Legislation Altogether!

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin may have destroyed the “Build Back Better” legislation altogether.

Manchin went on Fox News Channel on Sunday to say that he cannot accept the legislation, after months of toying with different versions.

This caused an appropriately harsh reaction from President Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, and many members of the Democratic Party in both houses of Congress.

It is hoped that some aspects of the proposed legisation can be salvaged separately, but sadly, this is the result of having a 50-50 Senate, and if Manchin were to become a Republican, as some suggest, it would simply put the Republicans in total control under Mitch McConnell!

Desire Vs Reality: Democrats At This Point Must Settle For Half Social Infrastructure Ambitions!

Sadly, it is now clear that Joe Biden and progressive Democrats have no choice to but accept a Social Infrastructure bill worth about half of the originally planned $3.5 trillion to help make life better for everyday Americans.

This author and scholar is furious about the impact of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, as well as some moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives.

But this is the reality when we have an evenly divided US Senate and a House of Representatives with a narrow margin of six votes.

But consider that IF Georgia had not elected two Democratic Senators in January—Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff–the first elected African American and first Jewish senators in Georgia history—the Republicans would be running the Senate under Mitch McConnell.

So the goal now is to accomplish what can be done, and try to work in the first half of 2022 for more, or make it the key campaign issue for the Congressional elections coming up next November.

Right now, celebrating what can be done, which advances the American nation, is still a major positive for Democrats, and it still will be the major domestic initiative, along with the financial assistance to deal with the COVID 19 Pandemic, that we have seen since Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society nearly sixty years ago.

So let us be happy for what can be done, and work to accomplish more Democratic Senators in the midterms, as there are more Republican seats up for election, and five Republicans are leaving, and more extreme nominees are likely, which, hopefully, will cause a major Democratic edge, despite historical trends, as this is a crisis situation for American democracy!

Three Present Members Of The Senate Likely To Be Three Of The Eight Longest Serving In Senate History!

Following up on yesterday’s article on the aging of the Congress, three present members of the US Senate are likely to be three of the eight longest serving in the history of that legislative body.

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont will pass Senator Ted Kennedy in longevity on October 23, just a month from now, with 46 years, 9 months, and 20 days, one more than the Massachusetts Senator, and will be fourth longest serving. And he plans to run for a ninth term, having been elected in 1974, and if he finishes that term in 2028, he will have served two and a half years more than the longest serving member in history, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who had nearly 51 and a half years in the Senate. Leahy would be 88 and nine months at that time.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has announced he is running for an eighth term, having served since 1980, and if he finished an eighth term, he would have served 48 years, longer than all but three Senators, Robert Byrd and Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, and also Leahy, and Grassley would be 95 years of age, with only Strom Thurmond leaving the Senate at age 100 in 2002 being older.

And Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former Majority Leader and now the Minority Leader, has his seventh term end in 2026, when he would be 84 plus, and he will pass a number of Senators and be seventh or eighth longest serving at the end of that term five years from now, depending if he is in office for exactly 42 years, as former Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah served from 1977-2019.

A Need For An Age Limit In Congress!

The news that Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley at age 88 has announced for an eighth term which would take him to age 95 is a sign of the craziness of members of Congress, having no concept of retirement!

Senator Diane Feinstein of California is also 88, and will serve until past age 91. It has been noted that her short term memory is faltering, and that rumors have it that she yells at staff because she is not fully aware of what she is doing, or what she has been told about regarding her ability to do her job.

Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe just won a new term at age 86, and will serve what he calls his last term to 2026, when he will be 92!

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy plans to run again in 2022 when he will be 82, meaning he would be in office until age 88 in 2028.

The other Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders is now 80, and likely would run for reelection in 2024, meaning he would reach age 89 in 2030.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky would be 80 by February 2022, and will be in office until at least 84 plus in 2026.

Idaho Senator Jim Risch, just reelected in 2020, will be past age 83 at the end of 2026.

Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, reelected in 2018, will be 81 by 2024.

Independent Senator Angus King of Maine will be 80 by the end of his present term in 2024.

Only Alabama Senator Richard Shelby is retiring in 2022, at age 88 plus, the only Senator deciding it is time to leave.

Additionally, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin will be 82 at the end of his present Senate term in 2026.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, expected to run for another term in 2022, would be nearing age 83 in 2028.

And there are six other Senators who would be 80 or past 80 by 2026, so a theoretical total of 17 Senators will be octogenarians (with two over 90) by that year!

Additionally, there are close to 50 House members who will be past 80 by 2026, and among the ten oldest are the three Democratic House leaders–Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Nancy Pelosi of California, and James Clyburn of South Carolina, all over 80 at this stage!

There needs to be some kind of age limit with a range of 80-85 at the most, but the problem is that Congress would have to enact such legislation or have a constitutional amendment, but it is highly unlikely that will ever occur!

The Supreme Court Reputation Has Been Seriously Tarnished, No Longer Seen As Representing Moderation!

The John Roberts Supreme Court reputation has been seriously tarnished, no longer seen as representing moderation!

By deciding to go along with an extremist Texas abortion law, in a one paragraph middle of the night statement, which includes no exceptions for rape or incest, and allowing private citizens to sue anyone engaged in promoting abortion, the Court has done one of the worst ever actions, which will be compared to such other issues as Dred Scott V Sandford (1857) and Plessy V Ferguson (1896), and a small group of other reprehensible decisions!

Chief Justice Roberts himself recognized how terrible this 5-4 decision was, so despite earlier personal expressions of being anti abortion, he joined the three liberals on the Court in opposition.

Roberts knows his own historical reputation has been permanently damaged, as the Court has become dangerously radical right wing extremist, with the three reprehensible appointments by Donald Trump showing their true colors!

The fact that the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett switched the Court balance from what it was under the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg right before the Presidential Election of 2020 is reprehensible!

But also, the fact that Brett Kavanaugh was the second Court Justice to face accusations of inappropriate sexual conduct, along with Clarence Thomas three decades ago, and now they decided the private lives of women, is totally infuriating!

And the fact that Neil Gorsuch gained an appointment after a full year of no replacement of Antonin Scalia, and that Merrick Garland was denied even a hearing as his replacement, makes all three of Donald Trump’s Court appointments questionable and wanting!

It is further proof that the Supreme Court has lost whatever aura it had, as a fair, reasonable body!

To reverse a decision of nearly 50 years, when the tradition of the Court is to uphold legal precedent normally, and that it has such a dramatic effect on more than half the population, is beyond the pale!

If Hillary Clinton had won the Presidential Election of 2016, which this author and blogger and tens of millions of Americans think is the truth, the Supreme Court today would not be in the crisis atmosphere it is in!

It requires an attempt to add members to the Court, because otherwise, the Court is on a tear to the promotion of Fascism clear and simple, and that cannot be allowed to move forward toward ultimate destruction of the Constitution and rule of law!

The idea that two Presidents, George W. Bush and Donald Trump,who lost the popular vote, could add two and three members to the Court respectively, which otherwise would have been appointees of Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, is simply outrageous and unacceptable for the long haul!

It will permanently destroy the reputation of a very evil man, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who brought about this travesty!

When one thinks back to the mid and late 1970s, we actually had a 7-2 Republican Court by party affiliation, but it included moderate Republicans, which included statesmen, including William Brennan, Harry Blackmun, John Paul Stevens, and Chief Justice Warren Burger!

So action must be taken to expand the Court, as we are in a constitutional crisis that will only get worse if no action is taken!