I was talking to a friend of mine – a “you’re preaching to the choir” kind of friend – and we had a discussion about the significance of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s untimely death – I honestly believe there were MILLIONS of Americans hoping she would “last” until after the first of the year knowing she had pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease – but, that’s not where our conversation was going. Part of the discussion was “what is the right way to go?” regarding when an associate justice dies during a president’s term in office. Is there a time when that president can’t nominate a replacement? And, despite what happened with Merritt Garland, the reality is there’s no LAW preventing individual 1 from nominating Ginsburg’s replacement. Of course, what republicans are doing is hypocritical beyond belief, but it will require democrats to, in my view, abandon their timid response to most crises in order to stop McConnell/individual 1 from cramming another justice on “we the people.”
Personally, I’m of the opinion this one is worth the democrats to be “pulling out all the stops” to prevent the court from being a 6-3 conservative majority for the rest of my life. (OK, I know McConnell/individual 1 could care less about what I think) McConnell has absolutely NO “scruples” and he was planning for the ugly “truth” here before RGB’s body was in the morgue. Personally, I wish we could spend a week or two celebrating what a monumental American jurist Ginsburg was without FIGHTING over her replacement – which, based on what happened to President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland, SHOULD take place AFTER January 20 of 2021. If there’s anyone in America who doesn’t understand the CORRUPT nature of republicans this should remove ANY doubt. (They must be certain individual is going to lose at the polls and, somehow, another judge will save him)
There’s a lot hanging in the balance. Let’s start with the Affordable Care Act. About one week after the November election the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in regard to individual 1’s attempt to OVERTURN the Act which is often called “Obamacare.” We’re talking about health insurance for over 20 MILLION Americans, the removal of preventing discrimination for people with “pre-existing conditions,” no longer would people’s children be able to be on their parents’ policy until the age of 26, and much MORE. My daughter has a business with OVER 100 employees who have insurance covered by the business and she has explained to me repealing the Affordable Care Act will/would create a very bad situation. It took them a long time to understand the full ramifications of the law and it’s now ingrained in the “system” and will be just more CHAOS under the time of our IMPEACHED so-called president if the law is repealed.
Of course, there’s much MORE than the Affordable Care Act. Let’s start with the issue of women’s reproductive rights – ie abortion. Conservative “Christians” have been pushing to repeal Roe v Wade for decades – read “Crazy for God” by Frankie Shaeffer if you want the inside information of how the “pro life” movement got commandeered by the republican party. I’m not going to get into detail on this issue – in my conversation with the friend mentioned above we broached the subject – suffice it to say the issue is COMPLICATED and, personally, I just can’t bring myself to believe it’s my role to tell YOU how to deal with this issue. I’m thankful I’ve NEVER had to address it directly, but I, personally, know women who have and it’s, clearly, a very personal and difficult decision for virtually anyone (essentially women) facing this decision. Of course, I’m a male so any issue I would have been confronted with would have been from the standpoint of someone indirectly involved. As I’ve said here before, at some point I’ll write an entire post regarding the abortion issue but, CLEARLY, it’s an issue of women’s reproductive rights! And, a bunch of MEN are presumptuously determining what WOMEN can or cannot do!
While there are many more reasons why democrats SHOULD be doing everything they can to make sure the NEXT justice on the court is chosen by the winner of this upcoming election, actually making sure Biden wins is what is paramount. We have the MOST corrupt (IMPEACHED so-called) president in history and I have no doubt he wants as many judges appointed by him as possible before he’s voted out of office so the first order of business is to vote him out of office. He’s already lobbying for a third term – that should really get people’s attention – people outside the CULT that is.
The rush to cram through a replacement for Ginsburg, here, would suggest both individual 1 and Moscow Mitch believe Biden is going to win in November. Individual 1 is facing a plethora of allegations coming from a plethora of directions and he’s likely going to be relying on the courts, including the SCOTUS, in what I hope will be a futile attempt to avoid accountability for his lawless behavior. Do I want him locked up? Well, actually, I don’t care – what I want is the accountability in a way which would discourage ANYONE from repeating the attempt to turn America into a pseudo fascist nation in the future. If him being locked up is necessary for that end then, well, that’s what I would like to see happen.
I haven’t even brought up the impending election because I just can’t bring myself to believe our IMPEACHED so-called president will be able to get away with STEALING the election via the courts. In 2018’s mid term election there were TEN MILLION more votes for democrats than for republicans (maybe more). Republicans in the Senate think that election was some kind of “win” for them – of course there were 23 democrats running for re-election with several in states won by individual 1 in 2016 while there were less than 10 republicans running for re-election – about the opposite of what republicans are facing in November. I believe it’s possible for Biden to win in November but for the democrats to still be in the minority in the Senate – that, of course, if it happens, will be a near DISASTER – the only thing worse would be individual 1 gaining another 4 years in the “White House.” I believe he’ll have to somehow find a way to CHEAT in order for that to happen.
There are reports individual 1’s supporters are prepared to contest ballots all across the key “swing states” as their main way of CHEATING. Supposedly, they are planning to put their right wing “goons” at polling places in areas dominated by democratic voters in ways designed to intimidate voters from even casting their ballots. Personally, I believe – just like EVERYTHING else individual 1 has done – all of this will BACKFIRE. He’s providing all the energy Biden’s voters need to get them to the polls – just like I’ve been saying for months, individual 1’s own words are the foundation of all Biden’s advertising for the election. However, democrats may not be able to stop republicans from doing this. “We the people” can turn this all around by voting as many republicans out of office as possible and letting the next batch who’ll be running in 2022 know they’re NEXT!
I know America’s young people are likely “in” for this election like never before (at least in my lifetime) and my fervent hope is they do their FIGHTING at the various ballot boxes around the country. Just because republicans are CORRUPT to the bone, to me, doesn’t justify doing the same thing to defeat them. I believe “progressives” (liberals) can mobilize enough people to change the direction of this nation – sooner rather than later. (That’s because I believe “later” is a really bad option) In fact, I believe November 3rd is a tipping point for America. If “we the people” lose this battle I’m not sure what it will take to turn things around going forward. We’ve seen the degree individual 1 is ABUSING his “power” to this point, but I believe, if he gets another term, “we haven’t seen nothin yet.”
The incompetence of individual 1 in dealing with this “once in a century” pandemic has been near depressing, in my view, but the real issue, to me, is the climate issue. And, I hope, our younger generation looks at that issue and realizes the stakes in their voting. It will take a focused effort over a period of MANY years to slow and, eventually, hopefully stop the earth’s temperature from continuing to rise. And, as the fight progresses you can count on the republicans to be using their new found advantage in the courts in an attempt to BLOCK legislation which would be aimed at saving the planet. (I can’t believe I felt the need to write that!) Individual 1 has been QUIETLY rolling back environmental regulations on a whim for over three years. Using the executive orders republicans were so quick to criticize President Obama from using individual 1 has turned the water a different color and the air harder to breathe. This is the most serious issue facing “we the people” and any chance for success depends on voting our IMPEACHED so-called president and as many of his cowardly enablers into the history books as we can – on November 3rd. The vote needs to be resounding!
No, I didn’t forget the “dreamers.” Their future hangs in the balance as well! We may not be able to save them based on the courts at this point in time, but the democrats can save them legislatively if they repeal the filibuster and take control of the Senate – which is a reminder that, despite all the attention, deservedly so, to whoever is going to replace Ginsburg – the MOST important thing to stay focused on in the next 6 weeks is voting individual 1 into the history books (right next to Benedict Arnold as I’ve said many times here) AND almost as important, voting in a democratic MAJORITY in the Senate. For years I prided myself in my independence as a voter, but since the day the Supreme Court stole the presidency from Al Gore and THEN Bush/Cheney took us into Iraq I’ve been voting AGAINST republicans.
In this election I actually feel I’m voting FOR Joe Biden because I believe he’s the right kind of “politician” to “lower the temperature” in America – if that’s possible – and, I’m excited there’s a “woman of color” on the ballot, Kamala Harris – who’s already got the republican name callers working overtime to denigrate her. And, trust me, should Biden prevail we’ll all be listening to 4 years of ATTACKS on Harris because republicans will be preparing themselves for 2024 with the idea she’ll be the democratic nominee. They’ve already started birtherism 2.0 which, to their voters, seems to be OK. So when we question the level of racism in the republican party, well…………….. I don’t think I need to say any more!
I’ll end this rant by pointing out an issue very important to me (I’m old, as I’ve said many times) AND I believe the democrats SHOULD be hammering this issue virtually EVERYWHERE – but, especially in places like Florida, Arizona, and other places with large populations of older people. Individual 1 is going after Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Not only via his attacks on the Affordable Care Act – which would really damage Medicare should it be repealed – but our IMPEACHED so-called president is directly attacking Social Security and Medicare by pushing for the abolishment of the payroll tax. I believe even many people who are collecting their Social Security benefits don’t understand it’s the payroll tax which funds the program. Should individual 1 succeed in repealing this tax Medicare wouldn’t last more than a year or so and Social Security would be totally insolvent by 2023. That means Social Security and Medicare are on the “line” in November’s election. Why isn’t this a major issue with democrats?
Final Thought: Obviously, there are many reasons for anyone who considers themselves a person with a moral compass to be voting AGAINST individual 1 and republicans in November. If you don’t think you’re a racist, take a good look at what they’re doing, what they’re saying, and what they stand for before you give them a vote. To me, you can’t vote for individual 1 and then disassociate yourself from all his baggage. For me, it doesn’t work for someone to say “I’m voting for a racist, but I’m not a racist” for example. You don’t get to say “I believe people should be able to go to the doctor” and then support voting to take health care from tens of MILLIONS of your fellow citizens. To me, at a minimum, that’s totally lacking compassion.
If you watch Fox “news” I understand why you think some of the things you do, but I don’t excuse you for doing so – for not FACT checking the propaganda coming from the mouths of their commentators. As the saying goes, you can disagree with people like me over the issues but you DON’T get to make up your own “facts.” (Alternative facts, as Kelleyanne Conway suggested) You don’t get to blame the incompetent response to the coronavirus anywhere but where it belongs – right at the resolute desk in the “White House.” As Harry Truman once so presciently said, “The Buck stops here.” STOP enabling YOUR (IMPEACHED so-called) president from placing BLAME everywhere but where it belongs. When he says, “I don’t take responsibility,” stop and think about how you’d have responded had President Obama allowed the Ebola virus to overtake America and then said “I take no responsibility.”
Honestly, if you’re a supporter of individual 1, I’ve lost patience with you. The level of hypocrisy, dishonesty, and immorality has reached such levels that if you don’t “get it” I’m losing my ability to give you the benefit of the doubt – even if you are a “nice person.” To me, just like I would expect you to put this country ahead of your party, I feel it’s my obligation to put my country ahead of our “friendship” – for people I know who continue to support individual 1. I believe his “base” is a CULT and those involved are proving themselves to be unable to think rationally – or, they have no regard for the traditional history of this nation. No matter how this election turns out – I believe we are teetering on the verge of becoming a second rate nation in the world – and, of course, an autocracy.
I have to add: Beyond individual 1 the Senate is the problem in this nation. It is the most UNDEMOCRATIC body we have – by far! For example, the state of California has two Senators with almost a 40 MILLION population. North Dakota has two Senators with about 780 THOUSAND people in their state. South Dakota a few more people than North Dakota but the same number of Senators. You can go down the list, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Vermont, Alaska, Delaware, Nebraska, etc. Several of these states have less people than the District of Columbia which is NOT represented in Congress. My point is the 9 or 10 most populous states in the union have OVER half the population of the country and 18 or 20 votes in the Senate. The 40 least populous states have 80 votes. Republicans have “aimed” their propaganda at the least populous states because it works for them – that’s how they win elections with less than a majority of the vote – ALL THE TIME! The Senate is what is and has been blocking progressive change in America for DECADES! Democrats MUST figure out how to deal with this – because they always seem “one step” behind the republicans – and, they “fight fair.” Stay tuned……….