Democrats will control the House of Representatives – Now What?

It was definitely a Blue wave in Orange County California.

That county immediately south of Los Angeles was the bastion of the Republican Party. It was a mostly middle class (Anaheim and Santa Ana) to the ultra rich (Laguna Beach and Newport Beach). Then came the changing demographics of Latinos, African Americans, and Asians who had managed to save enough money to buy a home in those comfortable suburban communities of Orange County.

So while there are some members of the minority groups that have supported GOP philosophy, a growing number rejected the obvious bias against non-whites that is a hallmark of the Republican Party. Donald Trump is the personification of White supremacy. The image that Trump exemplified was rejected by a majority of voters in that county.

Most likely that image of White supremacy enabled the Democratic Party to win control of the House of Representatives.

Still, the well established Republican Party majority states, that are in the less populated middle America and southern regions, rejected some of their Democratic senators. Trump’s campaign of fear of minorities and immigrants worked well in those states. Everyone should read Bob Woodward’s book titled Fear to understand how successful Trump has been.

The question now is what will the Democrats do with their new found power? The many caucuses within the GOP prevented the passage of needed legislation when they held control of the House. If those kinds of groups do not compromise in the Democratic Party we will continue to see a lack of legislation in the coming two years.

Not a Member of a Political Party

I am not registered as a member of any political party. Given my interest in politics it may seem an unlikely scenario. Let me tell you my reasoning.

The Republican Party historically in the 20th century was the party supporting business. They fought for lower taxes and less regulation. Who can be opposed to those objectives? Then the conservative religious groups evolved inside the G.O.P. Instead of being the business party they became the party of Evangelical Christians and other orthodox religious groups that put their religious beliefs ahead of business and the rights of non-believers. Today, thanks to Donald Trump, the G.O.P. has become the party concerned with helping the working classes of the country and the party of the extreme right wing (alt-right/neo-Nazi) hate groups. This is not a pretty picture.

Sadly the Democratic Party is no longer the party of the working class and middle class America. Extreme left wing socialists have become the driving force within the party. Senator Bernie Sanders has become a leader of this socialist perspective. America does have some socialist services but not to the level that the left wing aspires to bring to America. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare for the needy are all socialist programs but I do not support government ownership of businesses that should be operated privately (car manufacturing companies, aircraft manufacturers, etc.).

Third parties have had an inconsequential impact on American politics.

I am left with selecting candidates that have said or done something that catches my attention. I voted for both Democrats and Republicans in November. Some races were left unmarked for any candidate.

Donald Trump appears to be a thin skinned man who takes every slight as a major insult to him. How will he conduct himself as president? His behavior as a candidate has not changed since he won the election. The only thing that might stop him from starting a nuclear war might be the decisions of a wiser military.

How did America get itself into such a predicament?

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.

Benjamin Netenyahu Speaks to the United States Congress

My theory is that Speaker of the House John Boehner invited Benjamin Netenyahu to speak to Congress is an effort on the part of the GOP to prove to Jewish voters that the Republican Party is the party that supports Israel. It’s not that their votes will change an election. The GOP would like to attract more Jewish donors.

I believe Benjamin Netenyahu really does fear for the existence of Israel. His intention is to go where ever he must to obtain the support for what he believes are Israel’s needs.

Democrat and Republican Race to the Bottom

It continues to astonish me that the leading candidates for president, according to recent polls, are a group of people who were rejected for the job either four or eight years ago. Finally one commentator has had the courage to state the obvious. Eugene Robinson wrote in the Washington Post that the race is devolving into a contest of re-treads. “In a nation of more than 310 million souls, we can do better.”

Robinson is so right. Mitt Romney is pitching for donors as Hillary Clinton seems to have the Democratic Party nomination secured without one primary election.

It is a contest of shopworn seniors who have more to say about what they have done than what they are likely to do. Of course they will try to tell us that they still have lots of new ideas. Romney will now be concerned about the 47% and Clinton will have fresh ideas to counter terrorism and enabling middle eastern country partners and their people. Are we to believe that Hillary Clinton, one of the leading advocates for toppling Muammar Gaddafi, has a new understanding of Middle East issues and really has any new ideas?

The problem is the political parties. The power structure in both parties defines the likely nominees. It seems our choices will be either Jeb Bush or Mitt Romney for the Republicans and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats. We will hold our noses as we go to the polls; knowing we could do better.

America’s Standing is at Stake

I wrote I would not spend time listening to all the talk about government shut down and debt ceiling but the talk and news reports are everywhere.

I am really becoming frightened by the threatened default of the U.S. government. You see reneging on its debt obligations would make the U.S. the first major Western government to default since Nazi Germany 80 years ago.

Germany unilaterally ceased payments on long-term borrowings on May 6, 1933, three months after Adolf Hitler was installed as Chancellor. The default helped cement Hitler’s power base following years of political instability as the WeimarRepublic struggled with its crushing debts. We all know where that led.

Today we are faced with have similar situation. A small group of congressmen (the Tea Party) have taken control of the Republican Party and consequently are holding the government hostage. They want to stop government borrowing and paying out only from the revenue received. The Tea Party members do not believe that there will be any consequences to a default. If only I could get away without not paying back my loans and meeting my commitments.

Will we see chaos in America that leads to a dictator in the name of stability? Dictators frequently need a scapegoat. Will it be the Jews? Perhaps they will blame Hispanics and specifically Mexicans as the result of the influx of illegal aliens.

I predict that a default on America’s commitments will reduce this country’s credibility. The world is on a de facto dollar standard, similar in some respects to the British pound sterling standard of the 19th and early 20th century. The U.S. dollar will not be the world’s reserve currency if there is a default.