A Supreme Court Nomination Scenario

Donald Trump’s lead to win the Republican Party nomination could easily provide a path to Judge Merrick Garland’s ascent to the Supreme Court.

Here is my logic. Donald Trump has been behind Hillary Clinton in all the polls showing their likelihood to win in a general election. As of now the Clinton lead is relatively small but as the calendar approaches November and Clinton is still leading, the GOP leadership in the Senate may soften. For sure after an election of Clinton the Senate may rush to approve the Garland nomination because they might fear a more liberal nomination.

Garland has an impeccable record and at 63 his time on the Supreme Court is probably limited.

Is Donald Trump the New Hitler?

The similarities between Donald Trump and Adolph Hitler are frightening. The United States is not in the same condition as Germany in the 1930s but many people see themselves as victims of a similar plight. They have low paid jobs or no jobs at all while there are wealthy people who are earning fabulous salaries and bonuses. Bernie Sanders has pointed out that the wealth of the richest 1% is greater than the bottom 90%.

Unlike Senator Sanders, Mr. Trump has rallied his support from those “victims” of illegal immigration from Mexicans who are “all rapists and murderers.”

Today Mr. Trump has added all Muslims to his list of people to fear. This methodology was the same used by Hitler in his campaign of hate against Jews in the 1930s. Perhaps we should blame Sanders for the rise of Trump.

Trump has found minorities to blame for the plight of the poor in America. Who will be his next group to blame? Will it be Jews or perhaps Asians?

Are Americans “that stupid” to fall for this clap trap?

Where are the sensible GOP candidates for president? Jeb Bush makes mild disavowals as does John Kasich and the others are silent.

Hillary Clinton may believe that the nomination of Donald Trump is her path to the presidency but there is a frightening tide flowing across this nation.

Am I just being hysterical? The crowds at Trump rallies tell me we do have something to fear.

Hillary Clinton calls for U.S. to ‘intensify and broaden’ efforts to fight ISIS

You may not like Hillary Clinton for a variety of reasons. She is offering her take on how she would address ISIS if she became president.

Benghazi Attack will be Part of Republican Play for the White House

The Benghazi investigation committee hearing was a waste of time.

I am no fan of Hillary Clinton. I am also no fan of congressional committees that have a political agenda. Mrs. Clinton was in front of the Benghazi investigation committee but the committee was obviously not ready to hear her testimony. What is the purpose of the committee? We all know that mistakes were made. Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez attempted to learn what was going on at the State Department when the attack occurred but she was timed out and did not obtain a complete statement from Mrs. Clinton.

At the end of this hearing I predict Mrs. Clinton will go on to be a stronger candidate for president. Republican commentators will be flummoxed over the outcome and will try to blame Mrs. Clinton for a lack of detail on the Benghazi attack and how it was poorly handled by the State Department. It was poorly handled. The subsequent lies to the public were stupid and shows that Mrs. Clinton did not know how to explain away the deaths. No one foresaw the loss of life and no one is happy about the outcome.

The Benghazi hearing dragged on for 11 hours. Much of that time was a discussion of Mrs. Clinton’s e-mail and Sydney Blumenthal. Mr. Blumenthal was not a member of any government agency but was/is a private adviser and perhaps a friend of Mrs. Clinton. His connection to the Benghazi attack is nonexistent.

Republicans will use the Benghazi attack as evidence that Mrs. Clinton is not up to the job of president.

Bill Clinton Defends His Wife Hillary

Appearing on Erin Burnett’s “Out Front” on CNN former president Bill Clinton did a good job of defending his wife Hillary on her performance as Secretary of State.

“When we look at the job that Hillary did as secretary of state, she goes down as perhaps the worst secretary of state in history,” Trump said then.

Bill Clinton pointed to his wife’s efforts to impose sanctions — getting Russia and China on board — that precipitated negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal. He said that while that deal has proven controversial, the sanctions were roundly considered a success.

“Even the Republicans admit that the sanctions on Iran were well done,” he said.

“And that was a major achievement, to get Russia and China to agree to sign off on these sanctions and enforce them,” he said. “She did that. That’s what made the talks possible, so even the people who don’t like the Iran deal, like the sanctions.”

He also highlighted her work on the new START treaty with Russia, saying that “having these two sides still committed to reducing the number of nuclear warheads and missiles, I think, is a good thing.”

He said Hillary Clinton’s efforts to expand the number of beneficiaries from the George W. Bush-era anti-AIDS program known as the “President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief,” or PEPFAR, from 1.7 million people to 5.1 million by using more generic medicines. The expanded program did not cost on additional cent.

“These are all facts, so they’re not common to the diatribe here,” Bill Clinton said.

Of course there was no discussion about Libya, Benghazi, and e-mail records.

Jeb Bush and Multiculturalism

Most nations in the world reject multiculturalism. Even in Canada they have decided to define Quebec as the French speaking, French oriented province while the rest of the country speaks English and is oriented towards the UK.

CNN reported that Jeb Bush argued today that the United States is “creeping toward multiculturalism” and described it as “the wrong approach.”

But Bush, who’s fluent in Spanish and lives in Miami, has made cultural diversity a key staple in his campaign. He routinely talks about his wife, who’s from Mexico, and the “bicultural” children that they’ve raised together. On Monday, while addressing the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Houston, Bush lauded the country’s mixture of cultural backgrounds, saying the immigrant experience adds a “vitality that is different and unique and extraordinary for our country.”

So what is Jeb Bush’s real opinion? At this point in the race to win the GOP nomination I am guessing that his words today, Tuesday, are meant to win the Conservative vote in Iowa.

His real problem is that his desire to win the nomination has made him turn and twist as Mitt Romney did in 2012. We all know how that worked out. No one believed him in the race against Obama and the loss that year was overwhelming.

No matter who the Democratic nominee is; Jeb as the GOP candidate, will face the argument that he does not have a clear reliable opinion and cannot be trusted on any issue. The Democrats are collecting the words of every GOP candidate and will be using them after the conventions in 2016. Hillary couldn’t be happier.

The Evasive Hillary Clinton

This is short but not sweet.

Hillary Clinton did appear before a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing on May 8, 2013. However, she evaded explaining what happened in Benghazi, Libya. Instead there was a discussion of State Department Accountability Review Board report that was linked to a Tampa Bay Times article. That long report did not answer the key questions that everyone has been asking

When did the Secretary know the Benghazi facility was under attack?
Could any help been sent to save lives?

Clinton’s “What difference does it make?” response to questioning only makes her look responsible.

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Why would anyone go to the trouble of installing a private e-mail server in their home for government business? Hillary Clinton’s answers to that question make absolutely no sense.

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The above two issues makes the public question her honesty. The 2016 election win by the GOP is a given unless their candidate is totally unacceptable to the American public. In other words it’s the Republican Party’s to lose if Hillary Clinton in the nominee.

Blowhards Lead the Campaign for President

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 05: Donald Trump attends the — NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 05: Donald Trump attends the “Celebrity Apprentice” Red Carpet Event at Trump Tower on January 5, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Pont/FilmMagic)

Donald Trump has made the issue of illegal aliens his hallmark campaign issue. It may be a crowd pleaser for Republicans and other anti-immigrant groups but it is a distraction. The real issue, that Trump has touched upon, is middle class jobs. After all those illegal aliens aren’t taking jobs from the middle class. They are taking jobs from the poorest Americans who have limited skills.

None of the candidates for president have offered any consequential ideas about reinforcing and expanding middle class opportunities. Mr. Trump says he will make America great again. He says he will obtain the support of people like Carl Icahn who know how to bring jobs back to the USA. Details of how this will be accomplished. Who needs details?

“Hillary Rodham Clinton enters the Barnes & Noble to sign her book “Hard Choices” at The Grove, Thursday, June 19, 2014. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/Los Angeles Daily News)”

Meanwhile Hillary Clinton in her first major speech on the economy stood in front of a crowd called for companies to share more profits with their employees. Look at the listings of those people on the board of directors of any listed company. Their members are heads of other companies. It’s a closed system. Why should they share their wealth? The capitalist system does not call for sharing. It calls for make as much as you can. It’s everyone for themselves.

The leading candidates for president are both too wealthy to really care about you and me.

American Political Dynasties

Family dynasties in politics goes back to our second president, John Adams. His son, John Quincy Adams was the 6th president. John Quincy was an early proponent of Manifest Destiny, an American expansionist policy popular in the 19th century. He changed his position when the expansion of American territory also meant the expansion of slavery. What was he most noted for? He supported infrastructural and educational improvements in the shape of federal projects like road and canal building, a national university, and a national bank, but met with stiff opposition from supporters of Andrew Jackson in Congress. He is renowned as one of America’s greatest diplomats before his presidency and one of American’s greatest congressmen after his presidency, but was not a particularly effective president. Source: http://us-presidents.insidegov.com/q/27/9699/What-were-President-John-Quincy-Adams-s-accomplishments, www.john-adams-heritage.com/john-quincy-adams-facts/

Then there were the Roosevelts. Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt was a republican (In office September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909) with a liberal view who started our national park system and the first anti- trust laws. He began construction of the Panama Canal. Later his famous young nephew Franklin Roosevelt who led America out of the Great Depression and through most of WWII.

The Kennedy Family was famous even before John F. Kennedy became president.

The Bayh family of Indiana consists of two representatives Birch Bayh and most recently his son Evan Bayh.

The Brown family of California. The father was Pat Brown who is famous for building the California aqueduct that helped to distribute northern California water to southern California. His daughter Kathleen served as the state’s Treasurer and son Jerry who is now serving his fourth term as governor.

The Bush family starting with Prescott Bush (1895–1972) brought us George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush as presidents. Today George W. Bush’s brother, for Florida governor Jeb is running for president.

The Gore’s of Tennessee, and the Dodd’s of Connecticut are two other families that also come to mind.

Last but hardly least is Hillary Clinton who would like to be remembered for more than being a former First Lady.

There are many other political families listed in Wikipedia.

The question is have these families really harmed America? I believe the answer, for some of them is Yes. They see politics as a business to earn money for themselves and their families at the expense of society. Here in Los Angeles at least two families were instrumental in the incorporation of separate small towns that were manipulated to purchase services from their private companies.

These situations should be a reason for more Americans to be involved in the political system.

How Changing Demographics could change America’s Politics!

Could White People be the New Minority?

Opposition to immigration has a history going back to our second president, John Adams. The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798 and signed into law by President Adams. These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. Previously a new immigrant would have to reside in the United States for five years before becoming eligible to vote, but a new law raised this to 14 years. In essence, this Act prohibited public opposition to the government. Fines and imprisonment could be used against those who “write, print, utter, or publish . . . any false, scandalous and malicious writing” against the government. (source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/19e.asp)

At the end of 2014 California’s population exceeded 38 million people and was on its way to 40 million in 2015.

A new tally, released in late June, shows that as of July 1, 2014, about 14.99 million Latinos live in California, edging out the 14.92 million whites in the state.

Asians account for more than 14% of our population. That equals more than 5 million people. Almost 1.5 million are Filipino.

Walk through your neighborhood mall and you will appreciate the large number of Non-White Americans living here.

This is bad news for the Republican Party. According to a Gallup poll taken in 2012 “Republicans are overwhelmingly non-Hispanic white, at a level that is significantly higher than the self-identified white percentage of the national adult population. Just 2% of Republicans are black, and 6% are Hispanic.”

Failure of the GOP controlled Congress to pass revised immigration laws along with their new idea of limiting legal immigration to a greater extent almost guarantees that Non-White Americans will be voting Democratic in the next national election. The Democratic Party is depending on that outcome. They have every reason to expect the turnout will be in their favor when you listen to GOP candidate talking points.

Donald Trump stands for a shrinking White minority. Google the views of the Republican candidates and you realize they do not have a solution for the 12 million illegal immigrants in this country. They oppose amnesty and none wants to grant any recognition to those people. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has even discussed limiting legal immigration.

Not one candidate, neither Democrat nor Republican, for president has voiced the idea of enforcing current law that would result in penalties for hiring illegal immigrants.

Hillary Clinton sees a path to the White House by emphasizing the Republican opposition to any legal solution.

Unless the Republican Party changes in a dramatic way it will become part of America’s history.