Vice Presidency

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem And Animals: A Sign Of Cruelty!

Republican Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota is said to be on the “short list” of Vice Presidential running mates for Donald Trump.

Noem has been doing everything possible to flatter Donald Trump, including having suggested that Trump be added, somehow, to Mount Rushmore!

Noem has been a heartless governor on so many issues, including abortion rights, as she is vehemently “Pro Life”, or so she claims!

But now, in a newly published book, she informs us, which is weird in itself, that she shot and killed a 14 month old puppy and a family goat and threw them in a gravel pit on her farm, as she saw them as “untrainable” and “aggressive” in the case of the dog, and “nasty” and “mean” in the case of the goat.

There may have been problems with training the dog, but Noem displayed cruelty and heartlessness, and this from a political leader who, supposedly, values life!

Displaying cruelties to animals should be a major factor in eliminating Noem as potentially a heartbeat away from the Presidency!

43 Years Since Reagan Assassination Threat, And Dangers Ahead!

It has been 43 years since the last direct threat against an American President.

Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981, and miraculously survived and recovered, although many observers think his later diagnosis of Alzheimers Disease may have been related to that shooting.

There have been threats against Presidents and other top government officials in the four decades since, thankfully without the kind of horrible experience that Reagan went through.

But the levels of verbal violence and threats has grown exponentially, and now Donald Trump has used violent rhetoric, incitig his supporters and threatening Joe Biden, federal judges, and others, claiming “freedom of speech”.

But “freedom of speech’ does have its limits, and there is a need to make that clear to Donald Trump and everyone else, on all sides of the political spectrum, that using incendiary rhetoric could lead to prosecution and imprisonment!

The fact that we have gone through the longest period of no turnover in the Presidency, and that the 25th Amendment has only been used twice, in 1973 and 1974, is a warning of the growing reality that the nation is likely to face growing odds of a transition that we have not faced in a half century since 1973-1974.

So the office of the Vice Presidency is more significant than ever, moving forward!

The Negativism About Kamala Harris As Potential President Is Unwarranted!

The propaganda being spewed against Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential successor to Joe Biden at some point in the next five years is totally unwarranted.

Vice Presidents, historically, have been panned as not acceptable alternatives, but that is simply political propaganda by the other side of the political spectrum.

John Tyler was the first Vice President to suffer from ridicule and criticism, when William Henry Harrison died after one month in office in 1841, and he was called “His Accidency” by critics who refused to accept that his succession to the Presidency was legitimate.

There was great trepidation when Harry Truman succeeded to the Presidency after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, but Truman, despite bitter attacks, is now regarded as one of the top six Presidents.

No one wanted to imagine Lyndon B. Johnson as President in 1960, but he succeeded John F. Kennedy in 1963, and ended up being the best domestic President since FDR.

Gerald Ford is seen as having saved the nation by his leadership after the Watergate Scandal led to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974.

Kamala Harris has excellent credentials in her career of being San Francisco District Attorney from 2004-2011; California Attorney General from 2011-2017; US Senator from 2017-2021; and now Vice President for the past three plus years.

She has been a strong support for President Joe Biden, and is clearly more competent and experienced than many earlier Vice Presidents have been, including Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, and Mike Pence were.

Most of the opposition is sexist and racist against Harris, and it is disgusting that the right wing issues vicious attacks against her with no factual basis or justification.

If the need arose for Kamala Harris to become President, the nation would be in good hands, and would be well served!

Republican Party, Alarmingly, Going Along With Donald Trump On Russia!

It is mind boggling that large numbers of Republicans in Congress, along with MAGA supporters, are demonstrating a strong pro Russian, pro Putin stance, in alignment with Donald Trump, who has basically invited Vladimir Putin to invade NATO nations that Trump says are not paying enough for their defense!

The refusal of House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, to consider aid to Ukraine in its heroic battle for its sovereignty in the war provoked by Russia two years ago, is outrageous!

But even in the Senate, only 22 Republicans are willing to support Ukraine aid!

Among those who did so are:

Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Susan Collins of Maine
John Cornyn of Texas
Joni Ernst of Iowa
Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Mitt Romney of Utah
John Thune of South Dakota
Thom Tillis of North Carolina

Among the nearly 30 Republican Senators who refused to support national security interests, including continued support for Ukraine are:

John Barrasso of Wyoming
Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
Tom Cotton of Arkansas
Ted Cruz of Texas
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Josh Hawley of Missouri
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
James Lankford of Oklahoma
Mike Lee of Utah
Rand Paul of Kentucky
Marco Rubio of Florida
Rick Scott of Florida
Tim Scott of South Carolina
Tommy Tuberville of Alabama
J D Vance of Ohio

Notice how many of the second list are among the most outrageous, obnoxious members of the Senate, but also including a traditional supporter of national security legislation in Graham, who is now a turncoat, and Tim Scott, who clearly is angling to be the potential Vice Presidential nominee for Donald Trump!

These Senators in the second group are those who have surrendered their ethics, morals, and scruples to cater to Donald Trump, and in so doing, along with the Republican House, they are repudiating the Republican past of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and even the infamous Joseph McCarthy!

The Republican Party, except for a select few, has gone stark raving mad,and repudiated the heritage and traditions of the party started 170 years ago this year!

The need is clear for all sane, principled people to unite in the dissolution of the Republican Party, which has now been infested with MAGA Lunacy that cannot be reversed, and must be overcome by the decent majority of the American population!

Age Issue Is Neutralized: Competence And Decency Will Decide Election In November!

For the next nine months, we will hear constantly that Joe Biden is too old and feeble to be President for another four years.

This is really a non-issue as his opponent, Donald Trump would be in his 80s during the next four years, so the age issue is really neutralized.

If Biden was facing a much younger Republican opponent, then age would be an issue, but if that was happening, even Biden has said he would not be running, and is doing so only to stop the threat of Donald Trump returning to the White House.

Joe Biden was driven to run in 2020 due to the horrible reality of Donald Trump, thinking he was the only potential opponent who could defeat Trump, which he did handily by more than 7.1 million votes, a massive victory.

Biden’s competence, decency, and record in office have been so noticeable, that despite horrible attacks from MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump, and despite polls that are so often inaccurate so far out from an election, the odds of his reelection are very likely.

Biden has presided over an economy that is outstanding; has the respect and support of NATO leaders who fear Donald Trump; and has the vision that would move America and its relationship with the world forward.

Fear that he might not finish a second term is also the issue of Donald Trump, since arguably, Trump is in far worse physical and cognitive shape than is Joe Biden.

So the Vice Presidency is crucial, and while many would be not happy at the thought of Kamala Harris, when considers the likely alternative list being bandied about of possible Trump Vice Presidential running mates, there is no comparison!

Would Marjorie Taylor Greene, Elise Stefanik, Kari Lake, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kristi Noem, Vivik Ramaswamy, Tim Scott or other sycophants be better than Kamala Harris?

Only in the delustional minds of MAGA Republicans, who care not a whit about American democracy, the rule of law, and the Constitution!

Nikki Haley Is Not A Panacea For Republicans Or The Nation At Large!

Former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is NOT a panacea for Republicans or the nation at large.

She certainly is qualified for the Presidency, and is ahead of Joe Biden in some public opinion polls, but she has demonstrated a lack of courage in refusing to condemn Donald Trump, and many obervers believe she is angling to be his Vice Presidential running mate.

Her refusal to understand the role of slavery and racism in the American past, and her suggestion that she would pardon Donald Trump after a conviction destroy any sense of respect that she has had in the past.

She is the only true “survivor” of the disastrous Republican Party of 2024, but it is clear that she has no real chance of getting past Donald Trump, and is still unwilling to challenge a man who professes to want to be a dictator, and destroy the Constitution and rule of law!

The Disgraceful Fawning Of Republican Women Who Want To Be Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential Running Mate!

It is an unbelievable disgrace how several Republican women politicians are fawning to Donald Trump, in hopes that one of them will end up as his Vice Presidential running mate.

These include the following:

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene

Former South Carolina Governor and Republican Presidential contender Nikki Haley

This last possibility is highly unlikely, as now Trump is accusing Haley of being ineligible, not being born in America, which is a falsehood.

This was the same “Birther” tactic Trump used against Barack Obama, Ted Cruz, and Kamala Harris.

Haley is also the only one of these women who we could trust being a heartbeat away from the Presidency, as the others are “light weights”, not having the credentials to serve in the Oval Office, and nowhere near the qualifications of Vice President Kamala Harris!

Elise Stefanik A Totally Unprincipled MAGA Republican After Being Moderate!

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is a totally unprincipled MAGA Republican who started off as a “moderate” upstate NY Republican a decade ago, but has now sold her soul to Donald Trump.

She has made a reputation for herself as a demagogue, who is attacking University Presidents, as a so called champion of Israel; as an election denier of the 2020 Presidential Election results, and now ready to resist the results in the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election; calling the January 6 Insurrectionists “hostages”; and having no issue with Donald Trump’s utterances that are seen as authoritarian Fascist in nature, including his promotion of a dictatorship on Day One if he is elected in November.

It is clear she is auditioning to be Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate, clearly extremely ambitious but having a lack of any principles other than her own advancement at the expense of American democracy!

A Half Century Ago, The Nation Was Saved From Spiro Agnew!

Exactly 50 years ago, the nation witnessed the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973, on charges of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud, which led to a pleading of no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion.

That moment, while maybe not reflected on then or since, in retrospect, was an absolute blessing for the nation, the Presidency, and American democracy!

Sprio Agnew was, arguably, the most dangerous and corrupt Vice President in American history, a man who worked to divide the nation and promote evil in a monstrous way, including attacks on news media, and being in general “an attack dog” for the corrupt intentions of President Richard Nixon.

Agnew employed racist language, reminiscent of later what Donald Trump would do, and forecast the right wing populism that would be used by Republicans in later decades.

Agnew attacked liberals and anti Vietnam War protestors, and was vicious in his rhetoric, reminding many of former Red Scare provocateur Senator Joseph McCarthy, and gained a reputation as “Nixon’s Nixon”!

Even now, a half century later, when this author and blogger gives lectures on Richard Nixon, and mentions Spiro Agnew’s name, it gets a negative reaction from audiences!

But what is often forgotten is IF Agnew had not been investigated and found to be corrupt, as well as his evil doings as Vice President, he would have succeeded Richard Nixon when he resigned 10 months later on August 9, 1974!

Instead, the nation was fortunate that there was a 25th Amendment, and that Gerald Ford became Vice President by nomination of Nixon and approval by both houses of Congress!

Gerald Ford proved to be a savior, being the right person at the time of the Watergate Scandal, to be the successor to a President seen as the most corrupt in American history, until the disgraced Presidency of Donald Trump surpassed Nixon in the level of venality! 🙁

Vivek Ramaswamy Is Trump 2.0! Highly Dangerous Candidacy!

Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38 year old biotech billionaire entrepreneur candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination, has become the big star of the first Republican Presidential debate, despite having zero qualifications for the Presidency.

He is a young, brash, cocky, arrogant Donald Trump 2.0, who is clearly vying to be Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate, if Trump is, as seems likely, the Republican candidate for President for a third time, despite his four indictments and a total of 91 counts against him.

Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, and Chris Christie made him subject to their attacks, and rightfully so, as he has no background in foreign policy, and promotes an extremist right wing agenda that would be a disaster if he was to end up in the Oval Office in the future!

And his statement that Donald Trump was the greatest President of the 21st century, over Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and George W. Bush, is a clear sign of his lunatic nature, and the danger of his candidacy for the Trump cult, which lives in an alternate universe!