Archives for January 2016

If you knew nothing about Constitutional law and were watching last night’s Republican presidential “debate,” it would be perfectly reasonable to think Obama was pulling an FDR and running for a third term.

Of course, the 22^nd amendment to the Constitution limits a president from being elected more than twice. But you would never guess that from the many attacks leveled against the President by almost every Republican candidate on the “debate” stage.

Obama is weak on ISIS; Obama doesn’t know how to negotiate; Obama doesn’t understand foreign policy; Obama doesn’t want our country to succeed… blah, blah, blah.

Gov. “Bridgegate,” Chris Christie, launched the night’s best assault on non-candidate Obama. Speaking of our president, at the end of a long tirade, he said, “… and we are going to kick your rear-end out of office this fall.” Of course the conservative, Obama-hating South Carolinian crowd roared with approval at the ludicrous remark.

There were a few moments when Hillary Clinton’s name popped up, but mostly when it was connected to Obama.

For anyone who watched the entire two and one half Fox “debate,” like me, I can only describe it as the closest thing to “cruel and unusual” punishment outside a prison setting. But leave it to Fox to churn out as much ad revenue as possible from what has now become the best, most lucrative realty show on TV.

Many will talk about who won, who lost. It really doesn’t matter at this point. The first primary voting will take place in Iowa on February 1, and the voters will finally have their say; not the pollsters.

I don’t know if President Obama watched the “debate.” Hopefully he had better things to do with his time. But if he caught any of the shameful spectacle, he not doubt had a good laugh or two watching a group of dimwits, none of whom will ever see the inside of the White House, embarrass themselves.

For Republican kingmaker, Rupert Murdoch, he was laughing also… all the way to the bank.

Photo | jamaicatakeout.com

The sixth Republican debate and first presidential primary debate of 2016 is scheduled for this Thursday, Jan. 14 in South Carolina at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center. It couldn’t have come soon enough. The country is antsy to resume the good old-fashioned entertainment provided by the Republican lineup of candidates.

It is sad to learn that one of the regulars, Rand Paul, will not make it to the prime time stage, having been relegated to the kids’ table by Fox Business Network. But we did get some excitement from Dr. Paul when he threw a tantrum and announced he would rather skip the debate altogether than share the debate stage with also-rans Huckabee, Fiorina and Santorum. (Rand Paul To GOP … Take Your Kids’ Table And …”)

This is going to be fun! Look for some sparks to fly now that we are actually into the election year. The candidates will be jockeying for position with the first primary contest in Iowa only a few weeks away.

Will any candidate, or moderator for that matter, have the guts to bring up the “birther” issue concerning Cruz? Yes, Fox Business Network is hosting the debate and the questions will most likely revolve around economic, domestic and international policy issues… but what the heck! Why not put Senor Rafael Edward Cruz on the spot?

Once again, it will be a make or break moment for the establishment favorite, Jed Bush. Will he disappoint his donor class … again? You can pretty much bet on it. This year’s angry Republican base wants nothing to do with Bush or any candidate who reeks of experience or even shows a hint of moderation.

Can the insider, Marco Rubio, successfully paint himself as a Washington outsider? With as little time as he spends inside the Beltway, the answer could be “yes!”

Look for Chris Christie to remind us that he was a Federal prosecutor during 9-11 … for the umpteenth time. The fact that Bush didn’t actually nominate him until December 7, 2001, and he did not assume office until early 2002 be damned!

John Kasich will try to bring common sense to the debate stage, but will have little luck. He will, no doubt, get on the moderators for not giving him equal time.

We all hope the good Dr. Carson manages to stay awake for the entire debate. His campaign is sinking faster than the collective IQ of the Republican base.

Did I forget anyone? Oops, Trump and Cruz! Yes, they may go at it, but with the feigned earnestness that comes from their mutual admiration.

Enjoy the show … until the next installment of this long-running comedy series on January 28, in Iowa.

Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr Creative Commons.

The next Republican presidential debate, hosted by Fox Business Network, will be held this Thursday in North Charleston, South Carolina. Fox has not yet announced it’s field of prime-time “debaters.” While the focus will be on economic, domestic and international policy issues, here are the questions I would ask the likely adult-table candidates:

Donald Trump – “Not much is known about your wife, Melania. How do you think your supporters, especially evangelicals, would react knowing that  if you were elected, she would be the first First Lady to have posed nude?”

Ted Cruz – “Why does everyone hate you? Even your old college roommate, Craig Mazin, said,“I would rather have anybody else be the president of the United States. Anyone. I would rather pick somebody from the phone book.”

Ben Carson – “You have said God directed you to run for office. How was this communicated to you; in a dream, phone call or email?

Jeb Bush – “Do you regret not having listened to the words of your mother when her advice to you about running for president was: don’t?”

Marco Rubio – “It has been reported that while in elementary school, you were such a fan of the Osmonds that you formed a tribute singing group with your sister and cousin to entertain relatives. True?”

Chris Christie – “ You have been quoted as saying ‘Yes, I’m a Catholic and I believe in the teachings of the Church, but I’ve used birth control, and not just the rhythm method.’ Have you and Mary Pat used other types of birth control?”

While articles on this site are often satirical, my proposed questions for each of the candidates are based on actual, verifiable facts.

Sometimes it’s just enough to let the facts speak for themselves!

Breaking News – Fox has just announced the lineup for the upcoming debate. John Kasich has made the cut. The full slate of “debaters” will be: Trump, Cruz, Carson Rubio, Christie and Kasich.

Here is my Kasich question:

Kasich – “You’ve often mentioned, in speeches and interviews,  you are a good friend of Bono. Would that be Sonny?”

This coming Thursday, January 14, the Fox Business Network will air the next Republican presidential debate, focusing on economic, domestic and international policy issues. I am holding out hope, however, that one of the moderators asks Donald Trump the following question:

“Mr. Trump, some people have raised the issue of Ted Cruz’s eligibility to seek the presidency, most recently Ann Coulter, a supporter of yours. Most legal scholars agree that Mr. Cruz would be eligible to run for president because his mother was an American citizen at the time of his birth in Canada. Do you agree? And if yes, how is Mr. Cruz’s situation any different from that of President Obama whose mother was also an American citizen born in Kansas?”

Trump needs to be put on the spot. If he disagrees, then why hasn’t he, the “king of the birthers,” aggressively gone after Ted Cruz as he did with our President? If he agrees, then why did he push so hard for the President to produce his long form birth certificate? If a candidate’s birth place is not the deciding  factor, then President Obama was always eligible for the office … even if he had been born out of the country (which is clearly not the case), like Ted Cruz?

The constitutional requirements for a presidential candidate created by the Founding Fathers are concise but not very clear. Two provisions are obvious: The candidate must be 35 years of age and a resident of the United States for 14 years. The third qualification: He or she must be a “natural born citizen.”

But what does “natural born citizen” mean?

The Supreme Court — the ultimate arbiter of constitutional questions — has never directly ruled on the citizenship provision for presidential office seekers. And that means a note of uncertainty exists. Legal experts agree that a child becomes a “natural born citizen” if either parent is an American citizen, regardless of where the birth takes place.

There have been a number of unsuccessful citizen lawsuits filed over the years on this issue but they have all been dismissed due to lack of standing. About the only way a court would get involved in this “constitutional ambiguity” is if a state, citing Cruz’s Canadian birthplace, tries to exclude him from the ballot, or another presidential candidate challenges Cruz’s eligibility.

Both highly unlikely!

Getting back to Trump, a question such as the one I propose would be very revealing. If he truly thinks Cruz’s Canadian birth disqualifies him from office, why has he not championed this issue as he did with Obama? If he agrees with the accepted legal understanding that Cruz is a “natural born citizen” because his mother was an American citizen, why did he fight so hard for Obama to prove he was born in the United States… if it doesn’t matter?

It is more than obvious to most people with at least half a brain that the whole “birther” movement was, and is, nothing but a racist reaction to Obama’s status as the first African American president of the United States.

Now if old Jeb wanted to do something useful, he as a plaintiff with standing, should ask a court to weigh in on this important issue, once and for all.

While they make up the bulk of his base, low-information-Fox-News-types are not the only Trump devotees.

Members of a secretive Hollywood group of right-wingers, Friends of Abe, are also admirers of “The Donald.” The group was formed in 2005 and has been described as a “stealth right-wing group,” “influential in conservative circles,” and “GOP support group.”

FOA keeps its list of members under lock-and-key (to avoid potential backlash in decidedly left-wing Tinseltown). But we do know that some of its founding and high profile “friends” include Gary Sinise, Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, Clint Eastwood, Jon Voight and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lionel Chetwynd.

“It’s a growing movement, and word is getting out that there’s many of us in this business,” singer Pat Boone, an FOA associate, told The Washington Times in 2008. “If certain studio execs—hirers and firers—learn that this is a movement and growing, and that some of these people that they hire are of this inclination, these people could be unemployed.”

The hundreds of conservative members are invited to attend strictly off-the-record functions where Hollywood celebrities get a chance to mingle with political big wigs. The group has hosted and toasted such conservative luminaries as John Boehner, Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. Past events have included a speech by Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia.

This past July, FOA invited Donald Trump to address the group at a private dinner held at Los Angeles’ Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel.

Friends of Abe maintains they have zero interest in endorsing a candidate or commenting on a candidate’s controversial statements.

“We invited Mr. Trump for the same reason we invite all of our speakers: to give our members a chance to hear from movement conservatives without the filter of the media so they can reach their own conclusions,” the group told the Los Angeles ABC station.

At this point, I am sure you will never again think the same of some of the Hollywood celebrities that are members of this secretive right-wing group.

Gary, how could you do this to me?  I loved you in Forest Gump!”

Photo | telegraph.co.uk