Republican National Convention

Many Republicans Not Attending National Convention In Jacksonville, Florida

President Donald Trump may wish for a grand audience of thousands of delegates cheering him on at the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida in late August, but it looks as if many US Senators and others will not attend, due to the CoronaVirus Pandemic raging in the nation, and particularly in Florida.

Among those announcing they will not attend include two retiring Republican Senators, Pat Roberts of Kansas and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, with Roberts being 84 and Alexander 80 years of age.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is 78, also has indicated he is unlikely to attend.

Additionally, the following Senators have made statements that they will not attend:

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska

Susan Collins of Maine

Mitt Romney of Utah

Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who will be 87 in September

Expect more Senators and many Congressmen and other party figures to decide not to attend, and it is possible that the entire convention will have to be remote, which is the present plan of the Democrats, as the only practical solution in the middle of a pandemic which has killed 135,000 people in just over four months.

Joe Biden plans to go to Milwaukee in person to give his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, but without a large audience, and Donald Trump, if he was smart, which he is not, should do the same thing, as this pandemic has transformed life in America for the foreseeable future.

Stephen Miller Needs To Be Kicked Out Of Trump Administration And Face Investigation, As He Is Most Dangerous Person Around Trump!

Who would think a 32 year old bully, racist, white supremacist, and nativist, with the credentials of having been on the staff of former Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, would end up becoming in many ways the most dangerous person around Donald Trump?

This blogger and author is referring to Stephen Miller, a disgrace to the Jewish people and religion, who has somehow become the center of the debate over immigration, and is helping to push the President toward extremism on many issues, including immigration and civil rights.

Miller was brought up in a liberal leaning Jewish family in Santa Monica, California, with his mother’s family having escaped from Belarus in the early 20th century, coming to America as non English speaking immigrants who achieved the “American Dream”, that now Miller wishes to deny immigrants from Latin America and from the Middle Eastern nations, including Muslims, and Africa.

In high school, Miller showed intolerance, as he promoted right wing conservatism, including the extremism of National Rifle Association spokesman Wayne La Pierre, and spoke on right wing talk radio as young as 16 years of age. He stirred controversy as he promoted white supremacist views in high school and at Duke University. He had a constant confrontational attitude, and befriended white supremacist Richard Spencer and right wing propagandist David Horowitz, another Jewish public figure who had once been on the left, and then became connected to the Far Right, and has promoted attacks on academic freedom of left leaning college professors.

Miller helped future Virginia Congressman David Brat defeat House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014, and went to work for the Trump campaign early in 2016, and became the warmup speaker for many Trump campaign rallies, and helped to write Trump’s speech accepting the Republican National Convention nomination for President. He became a senior adviser to the White House, connecting himself closely to Stephen Bannon, but has lately separated himself from Bannon, since Bannon left the White House staff and was shown to have given ammunition against Trump in the recently published Michael Wolff blockbuster book, FIRE AND FURY, which has become a best seller. Miller remains closely allied with Trump son in law Jared Kushner, who also looks more outrageous and objectionable on a daily basis, and may be involved in Trump Administration corruption.

Miller helped to write the controversial Inauguration speech of Donald Trump, and has made controversial and confrontational statements on various Sunday news shows, including that the President had absolute authority and “will not be questioned”. He confronted Jim Acosta of CNN about immigration, at a White House appearance in which Miller defended travel bans against Muslims and the promotion of limiting immigration from various parts of the world, against many nations. Most recently, he became combative against Jake Tapper of CNN, and was cut off by the host, and then refused to leave, and was escorted out by security guards.

Stephen Miller is a racist, nativist, white supremacist, all despite the fact of his Jewish heritage, and he is a disgrace, and needs to be kicked out of the Trump Administration and face investigation in the Trump scandals, as Robert Mueller is in the process of doing.

He is clearly the most dangerous person around Trump now, influencing Trump to the point of the present government shutdown, preventing any protection of “Dreamers”, the immigrant children who were protected under the DACA program, but now face deportation to nations they know nothing about, but where they were born before being brought to America as children.

Miller is a peddler of hate, who needs his comeuppance, and should never again be allowed to be interviewed on any news program, unless and until he apologizes for his misbehavior, which most assuredly will never happen.

The thought that comes to mind is that Stephen Miller is the equivalent of Roy Cohn to Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, infamous for the Red Scare of the 1950s, or Rasputin, the adviser to Czar Nicholas II of Russia, before the Russian Revolution of 1917. In other words, Miller is an evil and dangerous force, who needs to have his rapid gaining of power taken away from him now!

Fantastic Speeches By Cory Booker, Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders On First Night Of Democratic Convention!

Day One of the Democratic National Convention was fantastic, with Bernie Sanders giving a rousing speech supporting Hillary Clinton; Cory Booker giving a speech that is memorable for the ages, and will catapult him into speculation for the Presidency eight years hence; Elizabeth Warren making the case against Republican Donald Trump; and First Lady Michelle Obama giving the most dramatic speech of the evening, making us proud of her, as well as her husband.

There are still divisions to be healed with some Bernie Sanders supporters, but compared to the disaster and embarrassment of the Republican National Convention last week in Cleveland, this convention is working quite well, and it seems clear that the unity desired will come about by Thursday night.

And one can expect a major bump in the polls after the convention, by early next week, while the supposed bump of Trump seems to have been misleading, as new polls indicate very little bump, and mostly, only when one adds third party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein to the mix!

It is great that Bernie Sanders is uniting his supporters, an estimated 90 percent so far, to back Hillary Clinton, as otherwise, there is the great danger of electing a dangerous extremist, Donald Trump, with no knowledge, experience, or qualifications to be President of the United States.

The Republican Convention A True Disaster In So Many Ways!

The Republican National Convention of 2016 is a true disaster in so many ways!

Instead of building up Donald Trump, with many speakers ignoring him, the only purpose is to sow hate of the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, including calls for her imprisonment and even execution, by right wing forces inside and outside the convention hall.

We have witnessed the plagiarism of Melania Trump on Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech.

We have seen Chris Christie sow the hate of Hillary Clinton with a prosecutor’s case that could more easily be used against him in New Jersey over mishandling of Hurricane Sandy funds, and the scandal known as “Bridgegate”.

We have seen former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani come across as hysterical, screaming, and a mental case, including attacking Hillary Clinton for the sins of her husband, Bill Clinton, while conveniently forgetting his own sex scandals.

We have seen Dr. Benjamin Carson talk about Lucifer, and seem totally drugged in some form, and needing mental observation for his weird. strange behavior.

We have seen “losers” such as Scott Baio and Anthony Sabato, Jr, making fools of themselves, with no major acting roles offered to them.

The Trump children did the best of any of the speakers, but their father is not a role model for America by any means. It could be that Donald Trump, Jr and Eric Trump might have future political careers as conservatives, since they are well spoken, but they have no clue about what average Americans deal with on a daily basis.

Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Joni Ernst of Iowa put out their own publicity for a future that probably will include Presidential bids in 2020.

And despicable Ted Cruz for once did the right thing, defend his wife and father, but in so doing, probably destroyed his future political career.

But at least he showed SOME principle, which otherwise has been missing from this disgraceful convention!

Now the final step is about to take place, as Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech, the most important and most watched speech of the entire campaign, other than the three Presidential debates scheduled in September and October.

Republican Views On Donald Trump

Much of Wall Street is against Donald Trump, and many corporations are refusing to sponsor or support the Republican National Convention.

And many Republicans are either refusing to support Trump or, at least, are refusing to attend the convention, and or speak. Others, however, have supported Trump, and some of them are on the Vice Presidential “short list”. The incomplete list below contains 51 names.

Among them are the following who refuse to endorse Trump: (24)

Illinois Senator Mark Kirk
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
2012 Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker
Former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman
Former Florida Senator Mel Martinez
Former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman
Former Texas Congressman Ron Paul
Former Republican National Chairman Ken Mehlman
Former Oklahoma Congressman J C Watts
Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
President George H W Bush
President George W Bush
Bush I National Security Adviser Brent Scowcraft
Retired General Colin Powell
Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge (Also Secretary of Homeland Security)
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan
South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford
Ohio Governor John Kasich
Texas Senator Ted Cruz
Nevada Senator Dean Heller
Utah Senator Mike Lee

Among others who will not attend the convention and or do not plan to speak: (10)

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte
South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner
Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy
Texas Senator John Cornyn
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
Utah Congresswoman Mia Love
Florida Senator Marco Rubio
Ohio Senator Rob Portman
Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker

However, others have endorsed Trump, including the following: (17)

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry
Dr. Benjamin Carson
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul
Florida Senator Marco Rubio
Former Georgia Congressman and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown
Former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst
Florida Governor Rick Scott
Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton
Maine Governor Paul LePage

Public Opinion Polls Show A Widening Lead For Hillary Clinton Over Donald Trump, Even In “Swing” States!

Here we are at the end of June 2016, and the public opinion polls show a widening lead for Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump, even in “Swing” states.

Donald Trump is self destructing, and this less than three weeks before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and Republicans running away from Trump in droves, wishing for an alternative, but realistically, not able to gain one, other than maybe voting for Libertarian Gary Johnson, former Republican Governor of New Mexico and his running mate, William Weld, former Republican Governor of Massachusetts.

If this trend continues, the reality of a massive landslide seems inevitable, and it would have the effect of a 1964 landslide of Lyndon B. Johnson over Barry Goldwater.

North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, Georgia and Arizona, and even possibly Utah, seem possible to go for Hillary Clinton, an unheard of thought just a few months ago, and with Hillary Clinton winning every state that Barack Obama won in 2012.

That would mean an Electoral College total of 401 electoral votes, with 69 being added to the 332 that Obama gained in 2012, and it would mean 32 states and DC out of the 50 states.

Ted Cruz-Carly Fiorina “Marriage” Is A Total Joke!

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, arguably the most disliked member of the US Senate, desperately trying to survive until the Republican National Convention as a Presidential candidate, has chosen former rival, and former CEO of Hewlett Packard, Carly Fiorina, to be his running mate, with very little chance that the reality of them being a team will ever occur at the convention!

Fiorina is about as disgusting and obnoxious as Cruz, and does not add anything to Cruz of significance. If this is designed to help Cruz in next week’s Indiana primary, seen by many observers as the last chance for Cruz to survive until the convention as a candidate, then how does Fiorina do that?

And if the purpose was for Fiorina to help in the California primary, how is that possible, when Fiorina lost the US Senate race to Barbara Boxer in 2010 by a literal landslide, and then flopped badly in the 2016 Presidential sweepstakes?

All that Carly Fiorina is good for is as an attack dog against Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, but she was hard to watch during the campaign for the Presidency over this past year, and really has no special expertise, and no experience in government! Who would want her a heartbeat away from the Presidency? And if there was ever a serial liar, it is this woman!

So Ted Cruz has struck out by choosing Carly Fiorina!

Paul Ryan Boomlet For President Begun By John Boehner: Really?

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has now been endorsed and promoted to be the Republican Presidential nominee by former Speaker John Boehner.

Boehner does not exactly have great popular support in the Republican Party, and the Tea Party Movement and other right wing extremists do not wish to give Boehner “the time of day”, having, basically, forced him out of the Speakership.

Ryan had said he did not want to be Speaker, but caved in to pressure.  The question is whether he can now be pressured to promote a revolt against front runner Donald Trump.

The Republican establishment wants Ryan to run, feeling that John Kasich has little chance of success in his quest to stop both Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, who no one in the Republican Establishment can tolerate!

If Ryan, who is the presiding officer at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, were to lead a revolt, it will likely cause turmoil on the scale of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, which doomed the chances of the Democrats to elect their nominee, Hubert Humphrey in that election year.

It is clear, as this blogger has stated for awhile, that the Republican Party, as we know it, is done, and that Ryan cannot stop that demise.

If a third party movement starts, it insures that the Democrats and Hillary Clinton will win the Presidency, the Senate, a slight chance to gain the House majority, and transform the Supreme Court, in a truly “wave” election.

And if, somehow, Ryan ends up taking the GOP Presidential nomination, it will bring back memories of the 2012 Presidential election, when Ryan was “conquered” by Vice President Joe Biden in their VP debate.

Yes, Ryan has a handsome face, and youth, but he is also a flawed candidate, which this blogger emphasized four years ago, causing for awhile a major right wing attack on this blogger, including in THE BLAZE, the media creation of talk show host Glenn Beck.  How dare I attack Paul Ryan, showing his many faults and shortcomings!

Also, were Ryan to be the Presidential nominee, it would be only the second time that a sitting member of the House has been the nominee of a major political party for President, with the only  time being Ohio Congressman James A. Garfield, who was elected in 1880, and then, sadly, was mortally wounded by an assassin, Charles J. Guiteau,  which is covered in Chapter 3 of my new book, ASSASSINATIONS, THREATS, AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: FROM ANDREW JACKSON TO BARACK OBAMA (Rowman Littlefield Publishers, August 2015).

So the track record on a Congressman going to the Presidency is not a good marker for success!

The Significance Of Florida And Ohio For The Nomination And Election Of The Next President!

So it comes down to Florida and Ohio.

Next Tuesday, when those two states, and others, vote in their primaries, we will know if Donald Trump is the likely GOP nominee for sure or not.

Right now, Trump leads Marco Rubio in Florida and John Kasich in Ohio, and there is no question that if these two contenders cannot win their home states, they are done.

But if they or either one wins their states, then the Trump bandwagon is at least slowed, and the likelihood of a contested convention in Cleveland in July becomes more likely.

Trump has gained the enmity of conservatives, including the two major conservative periodicals, the National Review and the Weekly Standard.  The conservative movement is in crisis, as they foresee an electoral disaster if Trump is the GOP nominee.

It seems much more clear now that the Republicans are fighting a losing battle, as with Michael Bloomberg deciding not to run as an Independent, the odds of the Democrats winning the Electoral College becomes much more certain, with either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.

But ultimately, it is not only these two primaries that are crucial, but also recognition that IF the Democrats win either Florida or Ohio in the fall, they are guaranteed victory, and that likelihood is increasingly likely!

The Best Hope For The Republican Party For 2016: Governor John Kasich Of Ohio!

It is becoming very clear that the best hope for the Republican Party to regain the White House in 2016 is NOT Jeb Bush, is NOT Chris Christie, is NOT Rand Paul, is NOT Scott Walker and is NOT anyone else being considered other than the sitting Governor of Ohio, John Kasich.

Of all of the potential GOP candidates for the Presidency, it is John Kasich who has the most distinguished record of accomplishments, who has made very few flubs or blunders, who has avoided making stupid statements up to the present, who has come across as a serious possibility from the state that is the ultimate “swing” state, Ohio.

NO Republican President has won office without winning Ohio, and from 1868 to 1923, there were SIX Republican Presidents from Ohio—Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding.

The Republican National Convention will be in Cleveland, and what could be more dramatic than nominating the sitting Governor of Ohio in Ohio?

Kasich has the most years of experience of anyone on the Republican side, having 18 years in Congress, and risen to the Chairmanship of the House Budget Committee, before leaving Congress, being an anchor for awhile on Fox News Channel, then working on Wall Street, before winning two terms as Governor of the “Buckeye” state.

No one is trying to claim that Kasich has made no mistakes, but compared to everyone else in the race, Kasich is the highest quality. While in Congress, he supported the Brady Assault Weapons Ban legislation and angered the National Rifle Association. He angered Tea Party groups by accepting Medicaid expansion, one of a very few Republican governors who have done that.

Kasich has worked against abortion rights, and has been shown to be anti union, typical of Republicans on the other hand, but he has also come across as an independent guy, who some have said has been influenced by the fact that his parents, killed tragically in an auto accident, were Democrats.

Kasich was considered as Bob Dole’s Vice Presidential running mate in 1996 but Jack Kemp instead was the choice of the Republican Presidential nominee. In 1999, he considered a Presidential candidacy but dropped out and endorsed George W. Bush. He could have stayed on in his Congressional seat and easily retained it, but decided after 18 years, it was time to move on. Had Dole picked him, he would have been only 44, and had he had a more serious Presidential bid in 2000, he would have been 48. Now he will be 64 in 2016, still young enough to be vibrant!

Kasich is also a reasonable man, a pleasant man, and avoids the image of arrogance and elitism that so many other Republicans exude. One can imagine a President Kasich, and if forced to do that, would be better able to live with it, as he is not a Tea Party Movement guy, not a Religious Right guy, not a libertarian! In fact, he is a bit of a skeptic about religion in politics, and has changed his religious views over his lifetime from Catholic to Anglican. He is in the mainstream of America, and is the best that the GOP has to offer, assuming former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman does not change his mind and decide to run after all!