Presidential Election Of 1980

JD Vance: Another Horrendous Republican Vice Presidential Nominee!

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The Republican Party, historically, has often selected horrendous Vice Presidential nominees, and unfortunately, some of them end up as Vice President, making one concerned even more than normally, about the health and safety of the Republican President.

JD Vance of Ohio adds to a list of such nominees, including:

William E. Miller, running mate of Barry Goldwater in 1964
Spiro Agnew, running mate of Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972
Dan Quayle, running mate of George H. W. Bush in 1988 and 1992
Sarah Palin, running mate of John McCain in 2008

Also, others, such as Jack Kemp, running mate of Bob Dole in 1996; Dick Cheney, running mate of George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004; Paul Ryan, running mate of Mitt Romney in 2012; and Mike Pence, running mate of Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, while all “qualified” and experienced, had many negative aspects to their candidacies.

The only exceptions one could claim were fully qualified and acceptable were Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President to Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush as Vice President to Ronald Reagan, and also Bob Dole as running mate of Gerald Ford in 1976.

And now we have JD Vance, who has only served 18 months as a Senator from Ohio, and who has completely changed his views on Donald Trump from what they were in 2016. And Vance comes across as a MAGA extremist who is unwilling to support Ukraine in its war with Russia; wants no exceptions for rape or incest with a total ban on abortion; and is clearly perceived as a “mini Trump”, who could carry on the Trump views in the future Republican Party.

And realize Vance called Trump a potential Adolf Hitler eight years ago, and now embraces him! If that is not a danger sign to voters, then such voters have no principles or conscience!

Some Reasons Why Donald Trump And Republicans Will Lose in 2024

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Despite conflicting public opinion polls, there are many reasons to believe why Donald Trump and the Republican Party are on the road to defeat in 2024!

Among them are the following:

If one uses Ronald Reagan’s argument in 1980, “Are you better off than you were years ago?”, and use it in reverse, most certainly, economically, the nation is far better than it was in 2020, by any economic statistic! The stock market is booming; unemployment is at a 50 year low; inflation is coming down; and more jobs have been created than under any modern President in a four year term!

Also, Donald Trump brags about ending Roe V Wade, and this ending of abortion rights has become a major motivator among the vast majority of women and the men who love them, and will motivate many voters to be sure to vote and get others to vote!

Donald Trump also tells Republicans to reject the strongest immigration bill in a generation, and the crisis on the border is worse, as a result, and it will reverberate on Republicans in the Fall. With various conservative groups backing the legislation, it can be used as a weapon against Trump in the upcoming election, and harm the party chances in Congress!

The Republican House of Representatives has been a disaster, leading to some Republicans quitting early, not wishing to hang around, and leaving the Republicans with just one vote more than a majority, subject to change at any time, if anyone in their slim majority resigns, dies, or is in the hospital for an extended period. And Speaker Mike Johnson is in danger of being the second Speaker to be removed in the same Congress. So the Democrats have a great issue as they get ready for the election, which should guarantee a Democratic majority in that chamber in the upcoming 119th Congress of 2025-2027!

Donald Trump being indicted on 91 counts in four cases is not going to help promote loyalty of Republicans, as already, there are indications that a substantial number did not want him to run, and instead supported Nikki Haley. The idea that independents or Democrats will vote for Trump is not realistic, and already, he has a record of never winning the popular vote in either 2016 or 2020!

With so many former Trump Administration officials refusing to support Trump this time around, since they see how dangerous he is on foreign policy, and his plans for a dictatorship, this will also strengthen the case for Joe Biden as a center of stability and democracy!

And with Trump saying the January 6 Insurrectionists are “hostages” that he would free from prison is not a way to win support or strengthen Republican prospects!

With all these factors, Democrats have the advantage, but have to be concerned about keeping support of African Americans, Hispanic-Latino Americans, Asian Americans, Arab-Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, and the younger Generation Z first time voters.

So there is plenty of work still ahead!

One Year To Presidential Election Of 2024, And Joe Biden Looks In Bad Shape!

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With one year to the Presidential Election Of 2024, President Joe Biden looks in bad shape, based on a New York Times-Siena College poll.

According to the poll, Donald Trump is ahead of Joe Biden in five of six swing state—4 points in Pennsylvania; 5 points in Michigan and Arizona; 6 points in Georgia; 10 points in Nevada; and with Biden ahead of Trump in Wisconsin by 2 points.

These statistics are stunning and worrisome, but one must realize that the history of polling shows one year out is no judgment of what will occur on Election Day.

One year ahead, there were no predictions that Harry Truman would win a full term in 1948; or that John F. Kennedy would win in 1960; or Richard Nixon would win in 1968; or Jimmy Carter (an unknown) would win in 1976; or Ronald Reagan would win in 1980; or Bill Clinton would win in 1992; or George W. Bush would win in 2000; or that Barack Obama would win in 2008; or that Donald Trump would win in 2016.

Also, one must realize that never has a President lost reelection to an opponent he had first defeated since Benjamin Harrison lost reelection to Grover Cleveland in 1892.

And with Donald Trump likely to be convicted on some of the 91 charges over four indictments in the next year, to believe that he will be able to defeat the man who defeated him, for the first time in 132 years, is to be living in an era of delusion.

Assuming that the economy will continue to do better, and with international crises a major factor, the President in office is, historically, highly likely to win reelection, particularly against someone who represents chaos, corruption, and incompetence, and as a threat to the American democratic system and to international stability!

But it is also clear that the message and the efforts to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and insure a Democratic controlled House of Representatives and Senate must move full scale ahead, as there is no time for any sense of relaxation about the future of the nation and the world at large!

Justin Amash And Howard Schultz The Potential Spoilers In 2020 Presidential Election

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In the midst of the battle for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2020, one can lose sight of the reality that a third party or independent candidate could affect the election result, as it did in 2016.

Third parties and independent candidacies for President have played a role in past elections, and the death last week of Independent and Reform Party Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot brings that to mind.

Presently, we have two potential spoilers–Michigan Republican Congressman Justin Amash, who might run as the Libertarian Party nominee against Donald Trump; and billionaire businessman Howard Schultz of Starbucks fame, who might run as an independent nominee, and harm the Democratic Presidential candidate.

Either or both could draw millions of votes, as Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party and Jill Stein of the Green Party did in 2016, when Johnson gained 4.5 million votes and Stein gained 1.5 million votes. Additionally, Evan McMullin of Utah, who ran as an Independent, gained about nearly three quarters of a million votes. So together, these three non major party nominees gained a total of about 6.75 million votes , about 5 percent of the total popular votes cast.

Ralph Nader and Patrick Buchanan had played roles in the 2000 Presidential election, as Ross Perot did in 1992 and 1996. And John Anderson was a factor in 1980, as George Wallace was in 1968.

Whether Amash and or Schultz will be a major factor in 2020, and draw millions of votes, is a center of speculation in the summer of 2019!

California Governor Jerry Brown Retires With Positive Reputation As Best Governor In 2010 Decade

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California Democratic Governor Jerry Brown leaves office after his second two term stint as governor of the largest state with an extremely positive reputation.

He is seen by many as the best governor in any state in the 2010 decade.

Having been governor at age 36 in 1975, Brown now leaves office at age 80 in 2019.

Brown brought California back from the brink of disaster financially in the past eight years; dealt with the environment in a very positive way; protected undocumented immigrants through the promotion of sanctuary cities; and set a standard for courage and principle, particularly in the last two years as he combated Donald Trump.

Originally seen as “flaky ” in the 1970s, he made many enemies by seeking the Presidency in 1976 and 1980 against Jimmy Carter, and then again running against Bill Clinton in 1992.

Looking back, however, this blogger feels he misunderstood the virtues of Jerry Brown, and now wonders how life would have been different with a President Brown instead of a President Clinton, as Clinton and his wife dominated American politics in the past 25 years, and while good in some ways, very tragic and troubling in other ways.

When history is written, Jerry Brown will be seen as one of the best Governors in America of all time. He also will have set the record as the third longest serving Governor since the US became a nation under the Constitution, only behind former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and 8,169 days (22 years, 4 months, and 13 days), and former South Dakota Republican Governor Bill Janklow, with 16 years and 7 days, and Brown having just two days less, with 16 years and 5 days. Brown will have one more day than former Alabama Democratic Governor George C. Wallace, (yes, that infamous segregationist who ran for President in 1968), the only other Governor to finish 16 complete years, although Ohio Republican James Rhodes and North Carolina Democrat Jim Hunt fell just a few days short of 16 years.

Growing Likelihood Of Challengers To Donald Trump For GOP Presidential Nomination In 2020

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With Donald Trump being “individual No. 1”, clearly the center of probes by Robert Mueller, the Special Counsel, and also by the Southern District of New York, the likelihood grows of Republicans, who have just come off a 40 seat loss in the House and control of the lower chamber, being alarmed enough that serious challengers to Donald Trump’s nomination for a second term seem likely.

One can expect the following Republicans to consider challenges to Trump.

Outgoing Ohio Governor John Kasich.

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the 2012 Presidential nominee.

Outgoing Arizona Senator Jeff Flake.

Former South Carolina Governor and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

There could be others as well, but this list seems quite realistic, although the more that challenge Trump, the less likely there would be success.

It would be much easier if only one challenger took the bait, and went after Trump.

One can think back to 1979-1980, when President Jimmy Carter was challenged by both Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and California Governor Jerry Brown.  

The one thing about even one challenger to a sitting President is that the result has been that while the President won the nomination, he ended up losing the election, with three of the four times losing massively.

William Howard Taft won only 23 percent in 1912 after being challenged by former President Theodore Roosevelt, and having to deal with TR as the Progressive Party nominee, as well as Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson.

Jimmy Carter won only 41 percent in 1980 after being challenged by Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown, and having to deal with an independent nominee, John Anderson, as well as Republican nominee Ronald Reagan.

George H. W.  Bush won only 37 percent in 1992 after being challenged by Pat Buchanan, and having to deal with independent nominee Ross Perot and Democratic nominee Bill Clinton.

At this point, before we begin the new year, it would seem as if John Kasich would have the upper hand on a challenge over others, and that Ben Sasse, representing a new generation of conservative leadership, would be an additional major challenge to Trump, were Sasse willing to mount a campaign.

Of course, any challenge to Trump would also be indirectly a challenge to Vice President Mike Pence as the “heir apparent”.

Five Or Even Six Potential California Presidential Candidates In 2020: Kamala Harris, Eric Garcetti, Eric Swalwell, Tom Steyer, Gavin Newsom, Jerry Brown

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California may have up to five or six Democratic Presidential candidates competing in the primaries and caucuses in 2020.

Senator Kamala Harris, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Congressman Eric Swalwell all are expected to announce in the coming months.

Additionally, entrepreneur and political activist Tom Steyer has been promoting the impeachment of Donald Trump in the past year, and the Los Angeles resident is believed to be planning to run as well.

And some think even newly minted Governor Gavin Newsom might also decide to announce for President.

And get this, even outgoing Governor Jerry Brown, age 80 now, might even, it is rumored, decide to try for the Presidency for a fourth time, as he did in 1976, 1980, and 1992.

California is one out of every eight people, and with the California primary slated for March 3, 2020, it could be a Californian who wins the primary, and gets the largest portion of delegates out of a total larger than any other state.

So to ignore California is to do so at one’s own risk.

Rumors That Jerry Brown Will Announce For A Fourth Run At Being President, After 1976, 1980, 1992 Despite Being 82 In 2020

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MSNBC will be having an hour presentation on Sunday evening about soon retiring Governor Jerry Brown of California, who has been on the political scene for a half century, and now at age 80 this past April, seems to be at the end of his public career.

Or is he?

Rumors are flying, and supposedly will be addressed on Sunday evening, that Brown is considering a fourth run at the White House, which he ran for in Democratic primaries against Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980, and against Bill Clinton in 1992.

Brown has had an amazing career as four time Governor of the Golden State from 1975-1983 and 2011-2019, along with being Oakland Mayor from 1999-2007 and California Attorney General from 2007-2011. Brown had the only defeat of his career when he tried for the US Senate in 1982, and if he had been elected, one can imagine he would still be in the Senate, running for his seventh term after what would have been 36 years in that upper chamber.

As Governor the past eight years, Brown has led the fight for the environment, for immigration, and against the Trump agenda during the past two years, and he seems unlikely to be quiet in the future, whether he runs for President in 2020 or not.

Brown has had his naysayers, but also his supporters over the years, and were he to announce for President for a fourth time, he would be the oldest of a number of potential candidates who would reach their 80s in the next Presidential term, including Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg, and John Kerry.

One thing seems clear, that at least two future octogenarians, Biden and Sanders, will definitely announce for President, with Bloomberg, Kerry, and Brown also potentially joining the fray.

One Term Presidents Who Lose Reelection Reassessed

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The historical image of One Term Presidents is that it is the worst thing imaginable to lose reelection, and that their historical image is damaged.

Actually, though, it could be argued that a one term Presidency often is a blessing in disguise in the long run.

Let’s examine what happened to the lives of Presidents defeated for a second term.

John Adams lost reelection to Thomas Jefferson in 1800, but went on to live another 25 years, see his son John Quincy Adams be elected and inaugurated President, and die at the age of 90 years and seven months, the all time record until the 21st century, when four other Presidents surpassed him in age.

John Quincy Adams lost reelection to Andrew Jackson in 1828, but went on to live another 19 years, and be elected to nine terms as a Congressman from Massachusetts, engaged in the fight against slavery as the only President elected by popular vote to an elected office after being President.

Martin Van Buren lost reelection to William Henry Harrison in 1840, but went on to live another 21 years, and be the Presidential nominee of the Free Soil Party in 1848, winning about 10 percent of the national popular vote, the first such third party to have an impact on a national election.

Grover Cleveland lost reelection to Benjamin Harrison in 1888, but came back to the White House by election in 1892, and later served on the Princeton University Board of Trustees after his retirement.

William Howard Taft lost reelection to Woodrow Wilson in 1912, but went on to become the only President also to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1921-1930.

Herbert Hoover lost reelection to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, but went on to the longest retirement of more than 31 years, only surpassed by Jimmy Carter in 2012, and Hoover having growing respect for his post Presidential activities, and dying at the age of 90 in 1964, only five months less lifespan than John Adams, and the second President to reach that age.

Gerald Ford lost election to Jimmy Carter in 1976, after succeeding Richard Nixon under the 25th Amendment, but went on to growing recognition and respect in his nearly 30 years after his Presidency, setting the record for longevity until 2018, dying at the age of 93 and five months.

Jimmy Carter lost reelection to Ronald Reagan in 1980, but went on to become the most outstanding former President in his activities and commitments to public service, and has had the longest retirement of any President, nearly 38 years, and has just reached the age of 94, being 111 days younger than George H. W. Bush.

George H. W. Bush lost reelection to Bill Clinton in 1992, but went on to see his son, George W. Bush be inaugurated and serve two terms in the Presidency, and growing respect as he set the all time record of age 94 in June 2018.

11 Democrats, Non-Southerners, Who Became Republicans Over The Past Half Century

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It is a well known phenomenon that a massive number of Southern Democratic politicians switched to the Republican Party in the years and decades after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

But it would be instructive to trace those Democrats, in their younger days, who were not Southerners, who made the switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

Following is a list of the more prominent such examples, numbering eleven.

In the early 1960s, actor Ronald Reagan, who had been a liberal Democrat and union leader in his younger days, became a Republican, influenced by his wife Nancy’s father, and soon was recruited by Southern California businessmen to run for Governor, and that was the beginning of an amazing transformation in views.

Donald Trump originally was a Democrat, and contributed to New York City and State Democrats, became an Independent, then went back to the Democrats, and finally allied himself with the Republican Party in 2011 and after.

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, started off as a Democrat, and worked for the Robert F. Kennedy campaign in 1968, and voted for the 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator George McGovern, before becoming an Independent, and then a Republican.

Elizabeth Dole was a Democrat who worked for Lyndon B. Johnson, but later became a Republican in 1975, married Senator Bob Dole, and was a cabinet member twice, sought the Presidential nomination herself, and then was a Senator from North Carolina from 2003-2009 as a Republican.

Vice President Mike Pence left the Democratic Party in the early 1980s, after having supported Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Presidential election, and ran for the House of Representatives and Governorship of Indiana as a Republican.

Condoleezza Rice, left the Democratic party in 1982, and became the National Security Adviser and Secretary of State under Republican President George W. Bush.

Ben (Nighthorse) Campbell left the Democratic Party in 1995, while a US Senator from Colorado, and became a Republican.

Susana Martinez left the Democratic Party in 1995, and later served as Governor of New Mexico as a Republican.

Norm Coleman left the Democratic Party in 1996, while serving as Mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, and later was a Senator from Minnesota for one term as a Republican.

Herman Badillo, former Bronx, New York Congressman, left the Democrats in 1996, and identified with the Republican Party.

Michael Bloomberg left the Democratic Party in 2001 before running for Mayor of New York City as a Republican, just as Rudy Giuliani had done before him.