Analysis of GOP Debate on CBS February 13, 2016

The debate was a disappointment for me. The moderators failed to focus on anything that might change public opinion. Donald Trump has been leading in the polls and nothing was said that will change his lead.

The first thing that should have received greater attention is the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. A one minute of silence was nice gesture but where were the questions about selecting a replacement? Instead all who were asked said the next president should select a replacement but no discussion of ties in voting during the current court session. No discussion on selecting a new justice who will not be politically motivated.

North Korea now appears to have a ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. mainland and yet there was not a single question about addressing the obvious threat.

President Obama is hosting a meeting of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and possible additional members to the president’s TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership). Not a single question about our relationship with those countries and no discussion on the impact of free trade agreements.

No discussion about Social Security and Medicare and how to keep them financially healthy.

Instead there was discussion about eminent domain. That is not a topic that will determine who should be selected as the president.

One other thought. If the number of candidates continues to total five or more the field will be split and that will power Donald Trump’s lead in the polls that has remained in the 30% to 35% range.

“To dream the impossible dream.”

Don Quixote: “To dream the impossible dream.”

What do all the “establishment” candidates have in common? They all promise to balance the budgets, lower taxes, eliminate tax cheaters, and of course keep America strong. The problem is that those are the basics of the job of president.

Americans want more from their president. They want to vote for someone who can offer a new and improved America. The want an America that destroys the bad guys and raises the opportunities for all Americans. They do want health care for everyone, a free or low cost education for their children, and the elimination of poverty.

Americans want health and happiness for everyone. They want someone who will “make America great again.” All of those wants without any cost.

The outsiders are the group of candidates that offer those results if only you will elect them to the presidency.

Thus “we will build a wall and make Mexico pay for it”, defend the constitution, and provide free universal health care for everyone. Those are the leading visions of the “outsiders.”

Looking at the history of our presidents I see a trail of broken promises. The war on poverty, the war on drugs, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, Hope and Change all have one common result and that is failure.

I like this quote from Bernie Sanders that at least acknowledges that one man alone cannot bring about change:
“No president, not Bernie Sanders, not anybody else, will be able to bring about the changes that the working families and the middle class of this country, that our children, that the seniors, our seniors deserve.” Sanders continued, “No one president can do it because the powers that be, Wall Street with their endless supply of money, corporate America, the large campaign donors are so powerful that no president can do what has to be done alone. And that is why — and that is why what Iowa has begun tonight is a political revolution.” – See more at: http://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/world-views/10450-why-i-support-bernie-s-revolution-incremental-progress-is-not-good-enough#sthash.Xmw9NSox.dpuf

So I will probably vote for Bernie and dream the impossible dream even though I know nothing will change.

Angry Versus Steady As We Go

Americans are upset with Washington. Some are angry. Some are VERY angry. Donald Trump says he is angry. He says the country is a mess. He is correct!

The “establishment” candidates are all part of the Washington group that has been running this country for decades. What do we have to show for it? Low paying jobs, crumbling infrastructure, high cost college education, high national debt, local governments struggling to avoid bankruptcy, and now even the stock market is in decline. And to top that off many other nations thumb their noses at the United States.

Is it no wonder then that Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Bernie Sanders are drawing big crowds to their campaign events? They are talking about changing the country with some specific ideas. Now you may not agree with all of their ideas but look at the establishment candidates. It’s all about a “steady as we go” philosophy that lines the pockets of the well connected.

The base salary for congressional representatives is $174,000 a year. The typical American family income was $53,657 in 2014. You think those congressional representatives are concerned with your situation? They are concerned with their re-election and that translates to contributions from the wealthy that want to keep everything the same as it is now.

So will the angry turn out in sufficient numbers to overturn the establishment? We can only hope!

Testing Ted Cruz’s Canadian Roots

Is Ted Cruz really a Canadian? The test should be in his use of language. Canadians have some word usage that appears to be unique to them.

First there is the use of the word “eh.” Using that word changes a statement of fact into a question. It is so simple to use and anyone can do it. All you have to do is make a statement like “It is a very nice day out today.” If you add “eh” to the end of that statement, you can turn it into a question that will require a friendly reply from the person you are talking to. For example…”It is very nice day out today eh?” To which the other person will reply “Yes it is.”

Second there is use of the word “about.” Many Canadians pronounce that word “aboot.” This may not be a dead give-away since many do pronounce the word as do Americans. Make no mistake. If Ted Cruz pronounces this word “aboot” then he is Canadian.

Third is his efforts to find a toilet while in a restaurant, hotel, or other place while he is campaigning. If he asks where is the washroom, that is a clear giveaway. There are no restrooms in Canada. The signs all say “washroom.” I was alerted to this on my first trip to Canada as an adult. My wife was looking for a restroom while we were in a Vancouver mall. Then she saw the word “washroom” and knowing that my father, who grew up in Canada, uses that word frequently identified the usage.

Forks, knives, and spoons are not silverware in Canada. The word they use is cutlery. I learned that from my father and have never used the word silverware except when it really was silverware. So ask Ted Cruz how he identifies the utensils.

Coke may be soda in the United States but it’s “pop” in Canada.

A bath robe is a housecoat in Canada.

Serviette: napkin.

Zed: the last letter of the alphabet (Z).

Americans Want an Outsider to Lead the Country

The first GOP presidential debate of 2016 displayed fear. That was the opening round. Fear all Muslims, fear the terrorists, fear all Latinos, fear they will take away our guns, fear that the economy is going to collapse. Of course all the blame goes to the Obama administration. The crowd loved it.

Then we came to part two and that was the Donald Trump reasons that we should support him over Ted Cruz. The crowd loved it.

The rest of the candidates were barely noticed. Nothing they said will change their positions in the polls. We have heard their ideas before and for the most part are not in agreement with their ideas.

The media seems to think the ratings were Trump won and Cruz came in second with Rubio on his heels.

Can anyone beat Donald Trump? Probably not. He learned how to entertain the crowds on The Apprentice and that education enables him to draw in a public yearning for an outsider.

Americans are tired of the Washington crowd that makes promises they rarely keep. That is the reason Bernie Sanders is rising in the polls.

The general election will be very interesting.

President Obama’s Aspirational State of the Union Address

No one wants to admit their errors and no president wants to tell the people that we are failing as nation.

It is with that understanding that I listened to the president’s state of the union address.

The following excerpt from a transcript of his speech tells us what he believes and really how he failed. After all his Hope and Change message in his first campaign for president was about the future. He just did not accomplish his goals. In my view he is an excellent speaker but he lacked the skills needed to achieve his goals.

Following is an excerpt from the transcript of the president’s speech. All very aspirational just as his victory speech in Chicago 2008.

So let’s talk about the future, and four big questions that I believe we as a country have to answer, regardless of who the next president is or who controls the next Congress.

First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy?

(APPLAUSE)

Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us, especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change?

(APPLAUSE)

Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman?

(APPLAUSE)

And finally, how can we make our politics reflect what’s best in us, and not what’s worst?

Yes, the economy has recovered from the worst recession since the Great Depression and yes we are militarily very strong but most Americans are unhappy with our place in the world.

Barack Obama was not our worst president but he was far from our best.

The Low Pay for Low Skills Lie

No one wants to be poor and no one wants to ask for aid from welfare offices. Unfortunately some people simply lack the abilities needed to successfully attend college. In fact some people struggle to graduate from high school. That is the reason we have a population of poor adults that will always have an income barely above the minimum wage for their entire lives.

In a world where high tech skills are the driving force and innovations that are eliminating many low skill jobs, the least able in society must accept simple jobs that do not provide a living wage.

Those poor people may be hard working but there simply is not enough family income to pay the cost of food, clothing, housing, and the other basics that the rest of us take for granted. Society’s solution is welfare.

The argument given by so many people against raising the minimum wage is that the jobs they do are not worth any more than that low pay.

Thus we, society, are subsidizing all industries that employ minimum wage personnel. We are giving them welfare. Society makes the poor feel even worse about their condition by requiring them to apply for welfare, present food stamps to markets, and other degrading actions.

The solution is to require employers to pay a “living wage” for the lowest skill jobs. Those people in that category would no longer receive welfare aid. The only people receiving welfare aid would be the mentally and physically handicapped. What about single mothers with young children? Require employers to provide child care either on site or through payments to child care facilities.

Of course there would be a chorus of objections to the cost burdens placed on employers. The answer is that society is currently paying the bill through welfare payments and that translates to higher taxes.

Conservatives who object to subsidies should be happy with reduced government size and Liberals should be happy to know that even the least able in society will receive a living wage.

2016 Politics Starts at the Rose Parade on January 1

What a campaign year it will be! The politically passionate started by dragging politics into an event that tries to avoid race, religion, and politics. They just couldn’t stop those passions for even 2 ½ hours.

After the last float left the Rose Parade’s starting line, a skywriting plane soared overhead. Attendees pointed and laughed at the plane’s message: “America is great. Trump is disgusting. Iowans dump Trump.”

Not to be outdone supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders followed behind the last float at the Rose Parade, carrying banners and shouting “Feel the Bern!”

The Fear Factor and Its Consequences

Presidential Candidates and the Press are promoting fear to advance their agendas.

The fear factor has infiltrated America. Turn on any news program and there is an item about Muslims and radical jihad. The fear factor is taking over our sense of judgement. GOP presidential candidates and the press are enhancing and thriving on the fear. Cable news stations have found this topic as a subject that keeps the viewers tuned in and that means more advertisers and more revenue that leads to more profit. The presidential candidates want to convey the idea that they are tough so they talk up their willingness to confront ISIS and Al-Qaeda. At the same time those candidates tell us that President Obama is not doing enough to destroy that enemy. He has no strategy and really doesn’t want to confront ISIS is their argument.

Watching Fox News Sunday today it was Juan Williams, the in-house moderate, who asked which presidential candidate was prepared to send an American army into Syria and Iraq. Williams asked what would any of those candidates for president do that is different than the actions being taken by Obama. The studio went quiet. No one had a response to Williams’ question.

Both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have based their campaigns on fear and hate. Trump lays out the scenarios and Cruz simply campaigns on the same ideas. They are the leading candidates in most state and national polls and that is the frightening fact.

If we are to take them at their word all illegal aliens would be deported to their country of origin regardless of how long they have lived in the United States. Many of those people own homes, hold jobs, and have been part of American society for decades. Muslims would be subject to invasion of their privacy and monitored as potential terrorists even though they are citizens by birth. Birth citizenship would be denied if Trump had his way.

You may say I am putting words into Trump’s mouth but he has insisted that he was more like FDR now than any leader since, according to his statement on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. This appearance on that MSNBC program is great for increasing that cable station’s viewership and revenue.

Barracks at Manzanar, where about 10,000 Japanese Americans were interned, as seen in 1942.(Los Angeles Times)

Seventy-three years ago, during World War II, the United States government forcibly removed 110,000 Japanese Americans from their homes and confined them in detention camps. Loyal citizens lost their property and liberty, based solely on their ancestry. The Korematsu decision validated that action: Relying on a deeply flawed evidentiary record — which included blatant racial animus, hyperbolized threats and misrepresentations by government lawyers — the Supreme Court ruled that the need to protect against the threat of espionage outweighed individual rights. -Los Angeles Times December 18, 2015

One of the comments posted on line about this story is a stunner. “WHAT NOBODY is speaking or writing about is that the Japanese incarceration was done for THEIR OWN GOOD AND BENEFIT. It was to keep them safe from harm of being murdered. Had any been murdered there would have been NO JURY that would have convicted the killer. In fact he may have been glorified. You just aren’t old enough if you know nothing about that and those days.”

The stories told by those held in those camps tell of lack of food, lack of sanitary facilities, and other deprivations. Those people were rounded up in days and put into the camps. Their homes and businesses were confiscated.

The leading GOP candidate for president, Donald Trump, has suggested the federal government create a data base of all Muslims and perhaps have them carry identification cards. Is the next step internment camps for Muslims?

Trump’s ability to attract large crowds at his campaign stops is a frightening message. Watching The Sound of Music (the Von Trapps fled Austria as the Nazis rose to power) sends the message that good people will rise above the messages of hate.

The GOP Debate of December 15, 2015

While the debate was not a major change event I predict the further decline of Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina in the polls. The discussion on foreign affairs was beyond their understanding as reflected in their answers.

There were at least two answers at last night’s GOP debate that should disqualify these candidates as contenders for the presidency. Their supporters will overlook the remarks as if they had no consequence.

1. Chris Christy said he would enforce a no fly zone over Syria and would shoot down Russian aircraft that would challenge that enforcement even if it meant World War 3. In other words he would take the United States into war over Syria that could bring on worldwide devastation.

2. Donald Trump was asked “What’s your priority among our nuclear triad?” by Hugh Hewitt. Trump clearly did not understand the question because he launched into a diatribe into about he would have handled Syria and the Middle East.

Hewitt: “Of the three legs of the triad, though, do you have a priority? I want to go to Sen. Rubio after that and ask him.” Trump: “I think – I think, for me, nuclear is just the power, the devastation is very important to me.”

Senator Rubio new exactly what the question was about and informed everyone on the stage and in the audience.

I know that Rand Paul was out of step with the rest of the candidates but his answers were the best thought out.

The debate was primarily about hate and fear and who could best address those issues. The candidates offered nothing positive.