Archives for 2015

After 17 months of investigating and over $4.5 million spent, it’s finally show time! So get out your popcorn, boys and girls, this should be a doozy!

Tomorrow, Hillary Clinton will give her much anticipated testimony to the House Select Committee on Benghazi. The stakes couldn’t be higher for the former Secretary of State and leading Democratic presidential candidate. Coming off her commanding performance in the first Democratic presidential debate, a similar achievement at the hearing could all but nail down the Democratic nomination … and finally convince Joe Biden to stop teasing the American public about a presidential bid.

For Rep. Trey Gowdy, committee chairman, it’s a make or break moment. After House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said what everyone including your aunt Mary suspected, namely that the Benghazi hearing was a setup to bring down Clinton, Gowdy understands that the hearing can either revive the committee’s credibility or see it more widely discredited.

My money is on Hillary coming out smelling like a rose. Gowdy, the boyish-looking former prosecutor and three term South Carolina Republican, and his committee members, will be playing JV to Clinton’s varsity. With Democrats, and even some Republicans, labeling the House Benghazi investigation a “witch hunt,” expect Hillary to play the aggrieved victim like the pro that she is.

It should be noted that Gowdy had offered Clinton to come in for a private interview. But Clinton, with her extensive experience testifying in front of committees, seems confident the hearing will devolve into a circus, showing the American public the Benghazi committee is nothing more than a “partisan charade.”

My guess is Clinton will give Gowdy a buzz cut even shorter than the one he sports.

Oh, I forgot to mention… the spectacle will be televised on C-Span. Talk about must see TV!

Photo | deadlinedetroit.com

I am old enough to remember when being educated was considered a desirable thing. Believe it or not, there was a time when words had meaning and facts mattered. Oh, those were the days!

In seventh grade social studies, I remember learning about different types of world political and economic systems. We were taught the differences between capitalism, socialism and communism.

Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, recently called Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, a “socialist-slash-communist.” Now I know that can’t be true; that those labels have different meanings; that Sanders is not a communist. But it doesn’t seem to matter. The Republican base that Trump is pandering too just loves it! The moniker has two scary words side by side!

To Bernie’s credit, he calls himself a democratic socialist.

“What democratic socialism means to me,” Sanders said during a recent speech in New Hampshire, “is having a government which represents all people, rather than just the wealthiest people, which is most often the case right now in this country.”

Bernie Sanders believes “democratic socialism” is just an extension of the New Deal and the Great Society, both of which defined the Democratic Party in the 20th century.

But can any candidate in the United States win an election with the word “socialist” attached to their name? Or was Bill Maher right when he told Sanders on his cable show, “They hear ‘socialist,’ and they think ‘herpes,’ Bernie.”

In a recent Gallup poll, Americans say they are more likely to support an atheist than a socialist for president next year. Just 47 percent of Americans would vote for a socialist if their party nominated one, while 50 percent said they would not, while 58 percent said they would have no problem voting for an atheist in their party.

Bernie Sanders is not a communist nor a true socialist, as Trump has accused him of being. But perhaps Bernie needs to lay off the socialist label, even if he tones it down with the “democratic” modifier. He may be overestimating the average voter’s knowledge of different political systems and underestimating their gut hatred of the dreaded “s” word.

Bill Maher could be right. No one likes herpes. And very few Americans know the differences between socialism, capitalism and communism anyway!

Poor John Ellis (Jeb) Bush. No matter what you think of him as a politician, you have to like him as a man. The comparatively moderate Republican, who many have labeled a good son and family man, was unfortunately cast into the bind of his life by the vagaries of fate.

Pressed to run for the presidency by a Republican establishment fearful of the rising power of the Party’s radical right but advised not to do so by a wise mother who thought the American people had had enough Bushes in the White house, the former Florida governor reluctantly chose party loyalty over wise maternal counseling. (What’s Wrong With Jeb?).

From day one, Jeb’s family name was both his biggest liability and his biggest asset. Many Americans associate the Bush name with the disastrous presidency of big brother George W. But, at the same time, a large group of conservative Republicans, mostly Evangelicals, still have a favorable view of the former president.

Very early into Jeb’s presidential run, it became clear he was not ready for prime time. It was one gaffe after another. Jeb had been out of politics for over 8 years and the rust showed.

The biggest dilemma facing Jeb was how to handle his older brother and the legacy of his miserable presidency. Did he throw W under the bus or embrace W’s policies?

It appears Jeb’s handlers thought distancing him from the brother sharing the same last name was best. Hence, the “Jeb!” campaign logo. While it was ridiculed at the time, leaving out the family name was a wise move.

Jeb Bush began his campaign by telling the world he was “his own man.” He even hinted that his brother’s decision to invade Iraq was a blunder. In February, he made it clear “there were mistakes in Iraq for sure.” But the closest he has ever gotten to a direct criticism of W is when he jokingly says that he’s “younger” and “better looking” than W

The war issue came to a head when Megyn Kelly of Fox News asked Jeb the very predictable question about the wisdom of going to war with Iraq. Proving that blood is thicker than water, Jeb told Kelly he would have done the same… even knowing what we know now! Of course he tried to walk back that statement. But it was too late.

So much for distancing himself from W! Now, in response to heavy criticism from Donald Trump about W’s responsibility for 9-11, Jeb has doubled down on his absurd statement that his brother “kept us safe.”

It appears the circle has been closed. Jeb is now incredibly defending his brother at ever turn.

While other candidates move up in the polls, the depth of Jeb Bush’s campaign incompetence just keeps marching on. But to be fair, Jeb was put in an untenable situation by the Party establishment that convinced him he could be the Party’s savior. (R.I.P GOP – The Slow Death Of The Grand Old Party.)

John Ellis (Jeb) Bush … a decent man but not presidential material for the rabid base of today’s GOP.

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Photo | AP/file 2006

Occasionally this page features guest posts. Here is one from Earl Anthony Scruggs, Sioux, Iowa:

My name is Earl Anthony Scruggs and I is a pig farmer here in Sioux, Iowa. For some reason, all kinds a folk want to tell me how to vote. Hell, I mighten not be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I knows how to vote.

You see, I been a life long Republican and am damn proud of it. I ain’t never voted for no pinko liberal … never! My Pappy taught me right. He said, “Son don’t be fooled by those weak-bellied liberal commies. All they wants is to take away your guns, your Bible and your money.”

I work hard here on the farm and is proud of it. I earns an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. I don’t want some stinkin Demacrat to take my money and give it to a lazy bum like my cousin Billy Bob. The man don’t work a lick! He’s got his welfare, his Medicaid, his disability, his food stamps. Why should he work when he gets all that free stuff?

I don’t believes in taxing the rich too much because one day I is gonna be rich. I keep hearin if ya work hard, there ain’t no stoppin ya. I sure as heck don’t want my taxes going to all those sponges like Billy Bob. I wants to keep money I works hard for. It’s mines, not the gubment’s.

Some people say I is dumb because I vote against my economicky interest. Truth is, I don’t know what the heck they mean by that. But I can tell ya I vote for peoples I is interested in, like I voted for Dubya twice.

In a few months I is givin my vote to the one man that cares about a little guy like me. A man who gives a hoot about his country: Donald Trump. The man ain’t like those others beholdin to big money. The man has his own money and can’t be bought. He tells it like it is. Trump understands what its like to own a business like mines.

Trump says he wants to make America great agin. And after eight years of that Kenyan Muslim doing everything he can to destroy the good old U.S. of A., I believes him. Now if Trump picks that true patriot Sarah Palin to runs with him, like McCain does, they can’t lose.

Photo | plus.google.com

Of the four men sharing the stage with Hillary Clinton at last night’s debate, many pundits are labeling Lincoln Chafee the biggest loser. When asked about a vote he had taken against Wall Street regulation while in the Senate, the Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat gave the incredible answer, “I had just arrived in the Senate,” basically admitting he didn’t know what he was voting on!

But an even bigger loser than Chafee was the man not on the debate stage: Joe Biden.

The rationale for a Joe Biden candidacy has always been to step into the fray to save the Party if Hillary were to stumble. In last night’s first Democratic presidential debate, not only did Hillary maintain her balance, she was at the top of her game. The former First Lady–Senator–Secretary of State was confident, relaxed, and unflappable as she took over the room. She was almost universally declared the debate winner.

If Biden had  participated in last night’s debate, quite possibly, the result might have been different. But he didn’t. And now Biden has to grapple with the reality of Hillary’s commanding performance, an outcome that has all but extinguished his raison d’etre.

Clinton turned one of her biggest liabilities, the email “scandal,” into a non-issue. However, she was aided in her efforts when Bernie Sanders came to her defense. “Let me say something that may not be great politics, but I think the secretary is right,” said Sanders. “I think the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!”

Many Democrats are beginning to wonder whether Biden’s coyness in announcing his decision is just plain old political leverage. The longer he waits to announce his intention, the thinking goes, the better prospect of a cabinet position, say Secretary of State, in a Clinton administration. If that is part of Biden’s thinking, he lost quite a bit of leverage last night.

Whether Biden is that calculating or has not truly made up his mind, a Biden candidacy against two top-notch, bona fide contenders, Clinton and Sanders, would just be a case of three is a crowd.

Photo | biography.com

Today’s Grand Old Party appears to be on a kamikaze mission. Chaos and open warfare has erupted among its ranks. But unlike those World War II Japanese pilots who intentionally flew their planes into U.S. battleships, today’s Republican Party is racing towards its own demise voluntarily out of sheer stupidity.

One could say Piyush Jindal’s “party of stupid” will never learn its lesson. (The Party Of Stupid Just Can’t Help Itself) They are facing the real possibility of a death otherwise preventable.

With a few candidates already having fallen by the wayside (Walker, Perry), the serious talk has turned to whether any of the three “non-politicians” leading in the polls have any chance of securing the Republican presidential nomination. The consensus among the chattering class is “no.” That leaves many to wonder who will be the Republican standard bearer for 2016?

The early establishment favorite, Jeb!, is going nowhere fast. It’s been one gaffe after another. Even with all that establishment backing and those deep-pocketed donors, he has proven himself to be anything but presidential (I know, that didn’t prevent his brother from being elected).

Marco Rubio has been getting a good second look by many Republican elites. But the Cuban-American is a little too wet behind the ears. And, most importantly, he does not fire up the base a/k/a the mob of radicals in no mood for business as usual. The new thinking is that the other first term senator, Ted Cruz, could actually become the Republican nominee.

Yes, the man born in Canada to a Cuban father could, with a little luck, become the Republican Party’s hope of winning back the White House. The reasoning goes like this: with Trump and Carson out of the race, Cruz would be the natural beneficiary of all those angry, no-compromise-no-more-business-as-usual-fundamentalist-Evangelical voters.

Yes, he is a sitting U.S. Senator which normally would make one an insider, but the firebrand has been a thorn in the side of the Republican establishment since entering the Senate in 2012. Ted Cruz is given much kudos by rabid Republicans for sticking to his guns (excuse the pun) and not compromising… with anyone! Many view his engineering of the government shutdown in 2013 as a demonstration of strength; proof positive of his true conservative bona fides.

If Cruz were to become the Republican presidential nominee, the Republican Party, as we know it, is cooked. It won’t matter if the Democratic nominee is Clinton, Sanders, Biden or SpongeBob SquarePants. The defeat would be crushing and fatal. The GOP could very well go the way of the Whigs and the dodo bird. While the adults in the GOP will try to shore up a Bush or Christie, it will be to no avail. You cannot change the minds of those who’ve completely lost heads.

Photo | forwardprogressives.com