Republican Senators

Republican Party In Free Fall

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The Republican Party seems clearly in free fall, as it looks clear that the Senate will go Democratic in November by the gain of a substantial number of seats, making them the majority, while the House looks as if it will be even more strongly Democratic.

The Republican Party is losing women, educated people, suburban residents, young people, racial and ethnic minorities, and the broad base of the middle class.

Donald Trump is on the way to a massive defeat, and the Republican Party that survives will be mostly working class whites in rural areas, and those who still profess to be “good Christians”, but have been willing to accept Donald Trump’s immorality and constant lying.

The future of the party is gloomy, as its membership in Congress is more than ever only white male Christians, with very few women, almost no Jews or African Americans or Latinos, and very little prospect in the cities and suburbs of most of the nation.

It may actually happen that Donald Trump will have destroyed the Republican Party, and it will have to reorganize to survive in the next decades as a serious alternative, but for now, the Democratic Party looks as if it is on the ascendancy!

Republican Senators Might Prefer Mike Pence As A “Pure” Conservative Without The Instability And Drama Of Donald Trump

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Following up on yesterday’s blog entry about the potential for up to 23 Republican Senators voting to remove Donald Trump from the Oval Office if there was an impeachment trial in upcoming months, there is speculation that many Republican Senators would prefer Mike Pence in the Presidency.

The argument is that Mike Pence would represent all of the “good things” about conservatism—the promotion of more right wing judges; more cutting of regulations; more tax cuts for the wealthy; more promotion of “Christian values”; and all without the instability and drama of Donald Trump.

And under this scenario, if Mike Pence came into office, assuredly, he would pardon Donald Trump, as Gerald Ford did with Richard Nixon 45 years ago, and nothing could be done to prevent that.

Understand, as if there is any doubt, that this blogger and author would be totally opposed to any such development, and what it would mean in promoting conservatism without the disaster of Donald Trump.

But it does seem to be a reasonable situation that could develop in the next few months of this impeachment drama.

Would Any Republican Senators Vote For Conviction Of Donald Trump In Impeachment Trial? It Is Possible Up To 23 Would Do So, Three More Than Needed To Remove Trump From Oval Office!

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As the likelihood of the impeachment of Donald Trump increases daily, the question arises whether any of the 53 Republican Senators would actually vote for his conviction and removal from the Presidency.

It has been reported that privately up to 30 Republican Senators would wish to do so, but are unwilling to risk their Senate seats to vote in public, where they need to be listed as to their vote on the matter.

Looking at the list of Republicans, it seems to this author and blogger that the following 23 might decide to convict Trump:

Richard Shelby of Alabama

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska

Marco Rubio of Florida

Johnny Isakson of Georgia

Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Joni Ernst of Iowa

Pat Roberts of Kansas

Rand Paul of Kentucky

John Kennedy of Louisiana

Susan Collins of Maine

Ben Sasse of Nebraska

Deb Fischer of Nebraska

Richard Burr of North Carolina

Rob Portman of Ohio

James Lankford of Oklahoma

Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania

Tim Scott of South Carolina

John Thune of South Dakota

Lamar Alexander of Tennessee

Mike Lee of Utah

Mitt Romney of Utah

Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia

Mike Enzi of Wyoming

All of these Senators, except four, do not face election until 2022, or 2024 in the case of Fischer and Romney, while Roberts, Enzi and Alexander are retiring in 2020, and Isakson is retiring early at the end of 2019 due to poor health . Only Collins, Ernst, Sasse and Capito face election in 2020, but possibly could be considered “yes” votes for conviction.

If all of these 23 GOP Senators voted to convict, added to 47 Democrats and Independents, it would mean the vote to convict would be 70-30, enough by three, allowing, in theory, three of the Senators facing election in 2020 to decide NOT to remove Trump.

The Time Has Arrived For Republicans In Congress To Denounce, Repudiate, And Abandon Trump: Will They For Their Reputation In History?

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The time has arrived for Republicans in Congress to denounce, repudiate, and abandon Donald Trump, after the double whammy of the guilty plea of Michael Cohen, and the conviction of Paul Manafort, within an hour of each other yesterday.

There is no justification, none, for Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and all other GOP Senators and Congressmen, even if they are running for office this November, to continue to back a President clearly involved in corrupt actions.

Either they do this now, or they will go down in history as collaborators.

One could say that they felt party loyalty before these events, but now there is no way to defend supporting Donald Trump.

Yes, they accomplished a massive tax cut for the top one to two percent.

Yes, they accomplished a massive attack on government regulation, trying to destroy the New Deal, Great Society, even Richard Nixon reforms, and Barack Obama’s healthcare law.

Yes, they managed to force right wing judges on us hurriedly, but should not be allowed to foist Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on us, at a time when the President is under investigation.

But now, the game is up, and they need to put America ahead of their own positions, and they still would be likely, in many cases, to win their seats again, particularly the House Freedom Caucus membership.

America First, NOT Donald Trump and party first!

The 49th Earth Day: The Attack By Scott Pruitt And Ryan Zinke In Full Swing

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Today, April 22, is the 49th Earth Day, first declared by Richard Nixon in 1970, although earlier promoted by Wisconsin Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, considered the true “founder” of the modern environmental movement.

We have come a long way in the movement to preserve our environment, with many heroes in that movement,

We can look back to Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, John Muir and many others at the beginning of the 20th century.

We can look forward to such people as Ralph Nader, Jimmy Carter, Cecil Andrus, Al Gore, Bruce Babbitt, and a multitude of others who deserve praise.

But we also have the enemies of the environmental movement, from the time of Ronald Reagan onward, and including many Republican senators over the years.

And now, we have the Donald Trump Presidency, and the evil being done every day by Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and by Ryan Zinke, the Secretary of the Interior, who are trying to destroy all efforts at protecting us from climate change, global warming, and the damage to wildlife and to our national park and national monument system.

The fight for the environment must be fought against all enemies, as it is the future of the planet at stake!

Trump Goes Ballistic, Condemns Jeff Sessions, And Implies Threat Against Robert Mueller: A President Gone Nuts!

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Donald Trump is certifiably nuts, as evidenced by his NY Times audio interview, in which he attacked his own Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and implied a threat to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, along with attacking the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and implying that the new FBI nominee, Christopher Wray, would be loyal to him. Trump seems not to understand that the FBI is NOT supposed to profess loyalty to any President, but to the rule of law!

This came after the luncheon with Republican Senators, in which Trump, with Nevada Senator Dean Heller sitting next to him, threatened him if he did not support the horrendous Health Care legislation that cannot get 50 Republican Senate supporters. Trump also attacked one Republican, Rand Paul of Kentucky, who had not attended the luncheon, and has come out against “TrumpCare”.

Heller just laughed, which was appropriate, and probably enraged Trump, and may have led to his tirade NY Times interview later in the day.

President Trump is coming apart at the seams, and he is more dangerous every day with his access to the nuclear codes, and his “Bromance” with Vladimir Putin, and his alienation of our NATO allies.

This is no longer tolerable, and there must be mobilization of masses of people in every state and in the nation’s capital, demanding his resignation.

The people must rise and demand action, and force the Republican Congress to put them ahead of their own agenda, or else suffer a massive defeat in 2018, which may happen in any case.

It is time for Republicans to stop party loyalty to a President who is very willing to “throw them under the bus”, and has no loyalty to anyone except his own family. It is time for them to move toward impeachment, which is a political act, not a legal act, and can be done as long as a majority of the House of Representatives wants it, and if 19 Republican Senators are willing to remove Trump, based on abuse of power, obstruction of justice, collusion with Russia which borders on treason, and violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.

We are in danger of a complete dissolution of civil order, as our civil liberties and national security are at stake with this madman in the White House!

Today is the six month mark of the Trump Presidency, and it has been a literal nightmare, and action must be taken to resolve this nightmare!

Another Massive Tax Cut For The Wealthy: Sacrificing The Middle Class, The Poor, And The National Debt Totally Immoral And Unethical

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Donald Trump is promoting yet another massive tax cut for the elite wealthy and corporations, who already have many methods to avoid fair payment of taxes.

What Trump is ready to do is further sacrifice the dwindling middle class and the poor, and add trillions of dollars to the national debt.

This is totally immoral and unethical, and will undermine basic needs of millions of Americans who will lose health care, lose labor protections, and be subjected to corporate abuse of workers, consumers and the environment.

And one can be sure that Trump, who has refused to reveal his tax returns, will benefit handsomely from the massive tax cut.

The concept of social justice which advanced America under both Democratic and Republican Presidents over the past 85 years since the New Deal is being destroyed, as America moves backward.

The Republican Party has lost all humanity, and only if a few GOP Senators refuse to go along with this unconscionable tax proposal, will it be avoided! But don’t bet on that possibility!

Mitt Romney: A Presidential Nominee Without A Party! What Does That Portend For A President Romney?

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Mitt Romney is discovering that his party, both on the state level with governors, and on the national level with Senators and Congressmen, is abandoning him to save their own skins and their own power positions.

It is a real embarrassment that almost everyone, including conservative activists, who really don’t like him anyway, is leaving Romney hanging in the wind!

What does this portend for a potential President Romney?

It is clear that were he to become President, he would wield no power or influence over conservative activists, talk radio and Fox News Channel, or state governors and Congressional leaders.

He would be unable to keep a unified, loyal majority once the inevitable crisis arose, or the first political dispute occurred, which would mean he would be a totally ineffective President!

To top it off, he would not have the popular backing of the American people, because they would not like him, would not have his back, and would likely turn against him very readily.

So face the facts!

Mitt Romney would be a total disaster as President of the United States!

But, fortunately, that is NOT about to happen!