Can Democrats Manage Not to Lose Again to Trump?

Photo source: AP, from
 https://whyy.org/episodes/biden-enters-massive-2020-primary-field/

Well, here we are. It's a year and a half before the 2020 elections and there is a bumper crop of Democrats running for President, and more may be coming. Those leading the pack so far are Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Beto O'Rourke, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg (yes, no one heard of him until this year) and Kamala Harris.

Others seem to be struggling to get traction, with media focusing on each "shiny new object" (to quote a Facebook friend of mine) as they announce their candidacies. The latest rumor is that NY Mayor Bill DiBlasio may throw his hat into the ring, a bad idea in my opinion, given he isn't even popular in his own city.

Last time we didn't have enough choice. This time we may have too much. But it's a better position to be in, since we have plenty of time for the field to thin out before things get really serious, and it gives us a much more robust field of qualified candidates.

In early polling, among the top 5 Democratic candidates, all but Warren would handily beat Trump in the general election if it were held today.  But of course, we are a year and a half out, and we know how that can change.

But the bigger question is, will Democrats show up at the polls if their favored candidate does not become the eventual nominee? Early indications are this could be a problem, especially if that nominee is not Bernie Sanders.

While I know that posts on Facebook and other social media are not representative of votes, my impression from Facebook and Twitter is that so far, Sanders fans are least likely to say they'll "vote Blue no matter who" in the general election. Are we heading into yet another debacle if Bernie doesn't get the nomination? Will Democratic/Progressive voters split again and give Trump the presidency for a second term?

I'm seeing more and more posts lately with Bernie supporters claiming the early polls are "rigged" against their candidate and favoring Joe Biden. The most recent issue that came up was the CNN poll that came out after Biden announced his candidacy.

The poll, which was conducted by CNN by research firm SSRS, was a pretty ordinary poll, conducted among a little over 1000 adults (913 voters), balanced by political stance, demography and geography, and weighted to make up for any undercounted groups. Respondents with both landlines and cell phones were included. In fact, more cell phone users were included than landlines, no doubt reflecting overall trends.

Subsets of respondents were broken out in the crosstabs. But they did not break out results for any group that had less than 125 raw respondents because small sample sizes may not be projectable to the group's size in the population.

This led to a number of very misleading articles and posts about the validity of the survey.

Bernie fans posted a Youtube video of the Jimmy Dore Show on a pro-Bernie Facebook page I follow, where Dore (who admits he is no expert) misinterpreted the results of the CNN poll, saying the pollsters "left out" everyone under 50 and those making less than $50k annually. Then later in the video he casually says "or didn't poll enough of them or something." He made it sound as if they purposely didn't include enough in order to skew the results.

Others posted the actual cross-tabs showing the N/As among the younger respondents, again misinterpreting the data to say it indicated they weren't polling Bernie's base, which of course is absurd.

They also post "polls" from Progressive sites like Daily Kos or Democracy for America which are just surveys of their OWN members - not balanced or weighted or in any way statistically valid - as "proof" that the mainstream polls are biased, since Bernie blows all the others away on those sites.

It is especially irritating to see this misinformation (dare I call it "fake news"? Yes, I do) being posted as truth, especially since all major polls showed the same results that were consistent with the CNN poll, with Bernie behind Biden.

Look, I get it. You want to believe your guy is really winning. And I'm not necessarily a Biden supporter. Like Hillary, he has a whole bunch of baggage and may not inspire younger people to vote. But he would bring in some of the lost voters from the states Hillary lost, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan. I would prefer a younger candidate than either him or Bernie - it is time to "pass the torch" to a new generation. But of course I will vote for WHOEVER wins the nomination.

Once again the media is going to play a big part. We're already seeing a lot of emphasis in the media on the white male candidates (incuding Beto and Buttigieg) vs. all the very qualified women who are running. Given the importance of Democratic women voters, and particularly, women of color, in the 2018 elections, it is concerning that the women aren't getting as much airplay and press as the men.

And of course, let's not forget about Russia stirring the pot, voter suppression and gerrymandering. While a couple of states' gerrymandering issues may make it to the Supreme Court, I am not sanguine that the Court will rule that their gerrymandered maps are unconstitutional, now that Kavanaugh is on the court.

But in the meantime, I wish the Bernie supporters would be team players. Instead of trashing the other Democratic candidates, they should just push positive information about Bernie. Maybe doubting Thomases like myself would be more pro-Bernie if we didn't feel such hostility from his fans and feel as if THEY are shoving him down our throats.

They need to stop anticipating or assuming that the "mainstream media" and the "corporate Democrats" are going to push Biden and spurn Bernie. It never seems to occur to them that not everybody loves Bernie. I know I don't. I like some of his ideas and I am pretty liberal. But I'm also practical and don't see how he can get his ideas through a recalcitrant Congress (it is unlikely the Democrats will regain the Senate, absent some miracle - or a very motivated Democratic electorate).

Bernie's fans complaining about the Democratic establishment and continuing to relitigate 2016 and the DNC debacle is not going to get him nominated by the overall Democratic electorate. Not everyone is ultra-progressive and not all will support Bernie. But any Democrat would have better policies than Trump.

I think Bernie would have trouble being elected in the general election vs. Trump despite current polls. Trump will ream him out about his "socialism" if he is actually nominated. He'll be Crazy Bernie this or that. And he won't get the kid glove treatment he got in 2016 from the GOP in general. They were fine with him challenging Hillary because of how much they hated her. But if Bernie is the nominee that would change abruptly, in my opinion.

Do Bernie supporters really think that all Democrats are "just as bad" as Trump? If so they are sadly deluded. What about climate change? The environment? LGBTQ rights? Women's rights and health? There are CLEAR differences.

No candidate is going to be perfect. But we can't afford purity in 2020. Too much is at stake. Those who insist on that purity are insisting from a position of privilege; it is not their rights or lives being marginalized by Trump. It's easy to be righteous and pure if you have nothing to lose by not voting, or voting third party.

Sadly, I am seeing a lot of Bernie supporters saying yet again that if he doesn't get the nomination, they will refuse to vote for whichever Democrat gets it. (Not all, of course. I know many who voted for Bernie in the primaries in 2016 but voted for Hillary in the general election).

But there is a substantial subset that is dead set on repeating the mistakes of 2016. Here are some examples from a Progressive/pro-Bernie Facebook page I follow:

"I refused to vote last time. I just COULD NOT vote the lesser of two evils. I WILL NOT fall in line this time either. I will fucking revolt."

"f you really cared about the things you claim you wouldn’t settle for any corporate establishment hack to be President because in the long run it will lead down the same path as electing Darth Cheeto again "

"If DNC cheats again I vote Green."

"I will NOT Vote.. if Bernie is not the nominee. Period. The other oligarchs aren't going to rectify much of anything. And.. I would work to grow the MovementforPeoplesParty. End of story."

...And that scares the hell out of me. We can't afford another four years of Trump. Wake up people!

Day 166 and Counting

Source: Getty Images

Well, it's been a long 8 months since the election, and an even longer 5-1/2 months since Trump officially became president.

It's been even worse than we thought it would be. I think some of us hoped his whole campaign was an act to get elected and that afterward he'd show that he wasn't quite the hateful right-wing bigot he had seemed when on the campaign trail.

But he immediately went to work showing he meant every bit of it. It all started with the appointment of his transition team and closest aides; then his inauguration speech, which was a vile and dark denunciation of the current state of the country. He then went on to appoint the worst of the worst as cabinet members, as well as doling out key positions to his immediate family members.

With the exception of Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who seems to retain a modicum of integrity and actual competence in comparison to the rest, those he appointed to cabinet posts are all from some Bizarro World where they embody the complete opposite of what their department is supposed to support.

Betsy DeVos, champion of charter schools and school vouchers, for Department of Education; Jeff Sessions, a man with white supremacist ties, for the Attorney General, leading the Department of Justice; Rick Perry, who famously wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy - if he could have remembered the name - as Secretary of Energy; and worse yet, longtime EPA critic Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who is already doing everything he can to roll back as many regulations as possible.

And that's not all. Now we have Tom Price, a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act, as head of Health & Human Services; and Ben Carson (who outright said he wasn't qualified for a cabinet position despite having run for President) as Secretary of Housing & Urban Development, a topic in which he has absolutely no experience. I could go on. But you already know all that anyway.

The one bright spot is the uprising on the left, now known as The Resistance, that happened immediately after his inauguration, starting with the Women's Marches all over the world. As soon as we heard there was to be a Women's March on Washington, several friends and I immediately made plans to go. As everyone knows now, the march was so large that the members couldn't even actually march - the area was full all the way to the Washington Monument. We were tucked into a packed street next to the Air and Space Museum. Despite the crowds, it was a calm and peaceful demonstration of what "Democracy looks like," as one of the chants pointed out.

Then came the first Trump travel ban that spurred thousands to protest at airports and elsewhere. Then there was the march to support Science, and many others, demanding he release his taxes, be impeached, etc.

This is something I don't remember seeing happen under any other president since the Vietnam War. The response to the election of this self-aggrandizing, petty dictator has been visceral. And women are leading a lot of it. Part of that is our fear of having our rights taken away, part of it is the anger about the misogyny that played at least some part of the vilification of Hillary Clinton by both the right and by Sanders supporters from the left. Part of it is just plain disgust that a man who once bragged about grabbing women "by the pussy" actually got elected. And the fact that no matter how vile he is, how inappropriate and unpresidential his tweets are, nothing seems to matter to the Republican Congress or the voters who supported him. The frustration is all-consuming.

The endless speculation and drip-drip-drip of the administration's ties to Russia, and the possibility of collusion on the part of the Trump team with the verified Russian interference in our election, have just spurred further resistance. Trump firing Comey, reminiscent of Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre, fueled the fire and deepened the suspicions that there is something big to be discovered that Trump doesn't want us to find out.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is gearing up for a full-fledged investigation into every aspect of Trump's past, including his business dealings, possible money laundering and more. People keep asking why this process is taking so long. We have to keep reminding ourselves that the Watergate investigation took several years before culminating in Richard Nixon's resignation. And we have to make sure that Democrats win in Congress in 2018 so if impeachment becomes a possibility, there will be Democrats in power to initiate the process. Because the GOP never will as long as the president is able to sign off on any bills they bring him.

Another bright spot is, despite the many mean-spirited and harmful executive orders Trump signs, not that much actual legislation has taken place. Some reversed President Obama's own executive orders, many of which were put in place just before he left office. Others, like the travel ban, are still being litigated in court. Many of the loosened regulations pertaining to climate change, such as favoring coal vs. clean energy, or loosening restrictions on mileage requirements for vehicles, may not ultimately make that much of a difference, given the public and the rest of the world will continue to demand cleaner energy and better mileage for their cars. Companies aren't going to make special polluting vehicles or gas guzzling cars just for the (maybe?) 30% of Americans who don't care about climate change or clean air.

The biggest harm that Trump has been able to do is appoint Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, which is all thanks to Mitch McConnell's unprecedented obstruction of the nomination of Eric Garland for the seat well before President Obama's term was ending. For now, although Gorsuch has been reliably conservative, possibly even more so than Scalia, the Justice he replaced, at least so far Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote, has not yet retired. That seat (or those of any of the more liberal justices, should they leave) will be the key seat that could change the course of justice in this country for a generation to come.

The Resistance must continue and must be effective. We need to make sure we don't get distracted by the tweets or by hateful memes about Trump and focus on the policies he and his cabal are promulgating that will do lasting harm to our democracy.

One thing we are lacking is real protest music. Where is Phil Ochs when we need him? Thankfully, since he is no longer with us, someone has already had the brilliant idea of reworking Phil's denunciation of Richard Nixon (which in itself was a remake of his earlier song about the state of Mississippi) for the Trump era. The words have not changed much at all from the Nixon version. Amazing how in 2017 so much has remained pertinent.



Follow me on Twitter - I never tweeted much until January 20. It is now the center of The Resistance. https://twitter.com/Mauigirl52

President-Elect Trump

Who would have believed two years ago that this could even happen? Well, it has. And there were a lot of reasons for it.

First of all, no one took him seriously at first. The media loved him because he got them ratings, so they kept showing all his outrageous speeches and his big rallies without criticizing their content or calling him out on his lies. Democrats didn't take him seriously. Pundits didn't take him seriously. And neither did I.

I had been aware of Trump for 25+ years, especially since I live in the Metro NY area. But I never really paid any attention to him, even when he was bloviating about Obama not being born in the U.S. I mean, who cares what a reality TV star who runs casinos and builds gaudy towers thinks about the President? I never even watched his Apprentice shows, not even once. I just ignored the guy as someone who was not worthy of attention.

Well, as it turned out, he was. And in a very bad way.

As for the Democrats, they had a three-way race in the primaries that the media narrowed immediately to Bernie Sanders vs. Hillary Clinton, totally ignoring Martin O'Malley, who, in the brief moments he had to comment during their primary debates, actually sounded like a decent candidate. I had not originally been a fan of Hillary Clinton, as I felt she had way too much baggage and the Republicans hated her. So I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary.

Then came the nominations - and it became Trump vs. Hillary. In watching their conventions, I felt it was obvious that Hillary had the advantage. Her convention was full of hope and positivity, while Trump's was dark and foreboding. Didn't we learn that Reagan beat Carter in 1980 because Carter had spoken of the "malaise" in America, while Reagan offered that sunny vision of  "a shining city on the hill"? I assumed history would repeat itself. No one wants to think America is no longer great, and believe a dark vision of the country that only Trump could save, surely.

Sure, there were some stumbles - Hillary didn't campaign much in August, devoting a lot of her time to fundraising; and then she had that bout with pneumonia in September. But she bounced right back with three solid debate performances, where she seemed to  best Trump in each one. Her poll numbers rose again and I was feeling confident she would do well in the election.

Then came the Comey announcement about the discovery of new emails "pertinent to" the FBI investigation discovered on Anthony Weiner's laptop, putting her on the defensive again and giving red meat to the Right. Nine days later Comey said "nothing to see here after all," and moved on. But probably by then the damage was done.

On election night, Trump won the electoral college and thereby the Presidency.

Then came all the recriminations and the blame. The polls were wrong. Comey did it. Wikileaks did it. The Russians hacked it. It was the DNC's fault for cheating Bernie out of the nomination.The media was complicit by giving Trump too much air time and touting false equivalencies between his flaws and Hillary's. The Democrats didn't turn out in sufficient numbers. There was an underground white working-class rebellion everyone had missed. Clinton's campaign hadn't focused enough on states like Wisconsin or Michigan. They took African Americans and Hispanics for granted. Trump supporters were voting against their own self-interests. Bernie supporters refused to support Hillary. And so it goes.

All of these factors came into play and led to the result that most thinking people hadn't believed could happen. America voted in a president who has no knowledge of how government works, knows nothing about policies - neither foreign nor domestic - has spouted various stances on every issue imaginable and has no actual moral core. However, his campaign was run by Steve Bannon, who headed up Breitbart news as it became a vehicle for the "alt-right" movement, and who has now been chosen as Trump's strategist in the White House. He picked Mike Pence, a far right religious conservative whose policies as governor of Indiana show he is a formidable opponent of women's and LGBTQ rights. Other names being touted as potential cabinet members are equally concerning, especially when it comes to the EPA.

And let's not forget that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is champing at the bit to get rid of the ACA, Medicare, Social Security, and various other programs. And of course, that Trump will be able to pick at least one, and likely more, Supreme Court Justices. It all adds up to a total disaster for the Progressive cause, and a huge setback for so much progress that has been made over the past 8 years.

So what went wrong?

I had an uneasy feeling about the election since the spring when Bernie Sanders' movement got under way, and I saw the enthusiasm for him, and not so much for Hillary Clinton. It all felt a lot like 1968. I remembered how Eugene McCarthy's followers had refused to get behind the winner of the Democratic nomination, Hubert Humphrey, and how the former candidate himself had refused to endorse Humphrey until the last moment, when the damage had already been done. And Nixon was elected President.

I was pleased that Bernie did endorse Hillary immediately after conceding the nomination to her. However, that did not please his followers. Looking back, maybe McCarthy's followers wouldn't have cared if McCarthy had endorsed Humphrey earlier either. The result might have been the same in 1968 just as it was in 2016. Some called Sanders a traitor for endorsing Clinton. Others just didn't care. There was so much bitterness left from the hard-fought primary, and also from the revelation that the Democratic National Committee had favored Hillary, revealed in the Wikileaks release of emails among DNC members. Some Bernie supporters weren't Democrats at all and maybe they would never have voted for Hillary in the first place. But others probably would have, if they hadn't seen another choice.

I was one of the people who supported Bernie, but not blindly. I knew his policies would be hard, if not impossible to implement. I just wanted to protest about having Hillary Clinton being presented as our only choice, as I felt she would be a flawed nominee..

However, once she got the nomination, I was committed to her, and the more I saw of her, and the more I learned about her, the more I actually liked her on top of supporting her politically. I could put myself in her place and remember what it was like for women of our age (I am 63) back in the day; how hard she had to work to get to where she was. Whether or not you agreed with everything she has done (or that Bill Clinton did) - which I didn't - she was strong, she was brave, and she was qualified. Trump was none of those.

Trump is a weak, insecure bully with no pertinent experience for the role he will now be playing. His thin-skinned, easily offended nature terrifies me. Will he, as someone on Facebook said today, start a war because of a tweet? One can only hope there will be cooler heads in his administration who will control him insofar as international relations - and the use of nuclear weapons - are concerned.

I must say the results of this election have gotten me angry and fired up to a degree I have not felt in many years. If any ordinary Republican - say Romney, Jeb Bush, or Rubio - had been elected, I would be unhappy, but not like this. I immediately sent a small donation to about ten different organizations that work for LGBTQ rights, racial justice, women's reproductive rights, and the environment. And I'm going to the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017. But I feel rather helpless as the GOP will be controlling all three branches of government; there will be no checks and balances. They will have carte blanche to do the things they've always wanted to do.

We cannot let them succeed.

One of my big concerns is that many avid Bernie supporters refuse to join with those who supported Hillary to work to defeat the Trump administration's agenda.

They cite the fact that the Democratic Party has done things they disagree with - from using drones that kill civilians, or allowing fracking, to supporting foreign governments that allow human rights violations - to say that both parties are equally evil and they say they want no part of the Democratic Party. They say those of us who are calling for them to work together against Trump are acting "privileged" or "self-satisfied" and "sanctimonious." They say we didn't try to create a force that would have destroyed the oppressors.

I have done some soul-searching as I am always open to constructive criticism. I do not see what we could have done differently under the current system to reject both parties and somehow become powerful enough to have influence over what this country does.

Whether it was the fault of the DNC, rigged voting or just plain not getting enough votes (and you can argue any one of those points all you want), Bernie did not win the nomination. I'm sorry. He just didn't. If he had, I would have supported him wholeheartedly against Trump.

As far as voting for a third party - which I know many Bernie supporters chose to do rather than vote for Hillary - that would not have worked either. First of all, our system is completely rigged against third parties winning, so that is a problem that needs to be addressed at another time. This year was not the time. I also did not even agree with Jill Stein's perspective on a lot of things (let alone Gary Johnson's!) and felt she was supremely unqualified to run a government. So please spare me the idea of "Well, if everyone had voted for her she would have won." I wouldn't have WANTED her to win.

So that leaves this question for the Bernie supporters who reject the Democratic Party: What is your solution to the mess we are in? I am open to all suggestions. To me there are two things at stake:
(1) How to prevent the GOP from reversing all of the progress that has been made in terms of civil rights and a cleaner environment; and (2) Longer-term, how do we ensure that true Progressives gain power in Washington?

For (2), there are also two things that can be done. One is to work from within the Democratic Party to reform it and bring it back to its original Progressive values, by working at local and state levels to get Progressives in office in state legislatures, governorships, and Congress. The second way, if you think the Democratic Party is a lost cause, is to champion a Progressive third party that can develop real power - not the Greens who barely run any candidates on local levels and then trot out an unqualified candidate for President every four years, if that. (And yes, I am aware there are SOME Greens in office in some parts of the country but not nearly enough). Those third-party candidates have to start at the grass roots level. Run them for town council, for freeholder, for assembly representative, for state senator. Then run them for governor and Congress, and finally for President. Only then will it be possible for a third party to have power, and not before.

If anyone has other solutions to the mess we are now in, please, let me know. Because we have no time to waste.

A Sad Goodbye to Baxter

Hello Blog Friends. It is with great sadness that I must report that Political Blogger Extraordinaire and Cat-About-the-House Baxter passed away suddenly in April. He had numerous health issues, from an overactive thyroid to what we think was inflammatory bowel disease, which was mitigated by Prednisilone - but that caused diabetes. So he was getting two pills and a shot of insulin, twice a day, for the previous six months, and was doing pretty well, until one evening he just collapsed in the upstairs hallway. He went into a coma and died the next morning after spending the night on our bed. We didn't take him to the vet as we could tell the time was near, and didn't see the sense in stressing him out with a vet visit in the middle of the night. He was 15.

He had a good long life, of course, but we always want a longer time with our furry family members. It's strange to no longer have a cat. And given  our dog Angel thinks cats are a type of snack, we probably can't have another cat as long as we have Angel.

Diva is now close to 15 as well, but thankfully is in good health except for arthritis. She is still as demanding as ever and she and Angel are best friends and both sleep on the bed with us now that Baxter is gone. (Angel used to have to sleep downstairs and Baxter and Diva shared our bed with us  before). Here they are both giving me the stink-eye about something. Angel (right) learned how to do this from Diva, of course.

So, sadly, there will be no more blogs from Baxter. He had started his last entry back in February and never finished it. But, for old times' sake, I am leaving the unfinished version here below. It's interesting to see what was happening 5 months ago and to realize things have only gone downhill since then!

BAXTER's LAST POST:

Baxter here.

Well, here I am Again. I took a Break for awhile to see how Things Worked Out. And here we are in mid-February and Things are Just as Weird as ever.

Donald Trump is continuing to Lead the Republicans in their Primary race, which I find Unbelievable.

My Female Human says her now-deceased Mother would be Spinning in her Grave at the idea of President Trump. Her Mother was Amazed that Ronald Reagan became President. "Only in America," she would say, "could an ACTOR become President." She should see what's Happening now!

And worse yet, in Second Place is that Cruz guy; he makes my Fur stand on end. He's the one who some believe has been Anointed by God to be the next President. And oh yeah - his Dad is one of them.

To Me, those Overtly Religious Types are really the Scariest of all. Now, you know we Cats don't hold much Truck with Religion. Yes, there is Ceiling Cat. But Ceiling Cat kind of minds His own Business. Ceiling Cat doesn't expect us to Worship Him all the time (except for an Occasional Offering of a Dead Mouse or something). And certainly we aren't Required to have Specific Beliefs or to kill Other Cats if they don't Believe in Ceiling Cat. Basically we Cats can do Whatever we want and Nobody Butts into Our Business.

But some of these Religious Types who call themselves "Christians" (not to be confused with Real Christians who try to live Life by the Golden Rule, as instructed by the actual Christ that Humans call Jesus), seem to think they should Rule the World. In Fact, this Cruz fellow is part of a Sect called Dominionists, who actually believe the United States should be run as a Christian Nation and that Biblical law trumps Civil law. In Other Words, he wants the United State to become a Christian Theocracy. Now I find that Highly Ironic, considering these Types of People are the ones that are So Afraid of Muslim Theocracy (i.e., Shariah Law) becoming the Law of the Land. Pray tell, what is the Difference?

Then we Get Down to Marco Rubio. This guy is just Too Young and doesn't really Know What He's Doing yet. Give him another ten years maybe. He was supposed to be the Big Deal among the Republicans, before Trump came along and Blew that idea out of the Water.

Oh, and Jeb Bush - I think the Genes were spread out Too Thin - by the time they got to him, he didn't have Anything left. Not that there was Much to Begin with, when you look at W. But he has not had the Success I would have thought his Name might have Brought him.

Thankfully, by now some of the Field has Dropped Out, so I don't need to go into people like Christie. I'm a New Jersey Cat. Enough said. We in New Jersey know this man is an Idiot and a Bully. It just took a while for the Rest of the Country to figure it out.

Ben Carson should have Dropped Out ages ago. But I'm glad Governor Kasich did not. Out of All of Them, he may be the most Sane. Of course, that isn't saying a Lot.

Who do I think might win? Hard to Say. But I hope it's not Cruz. Frighteningly, Trump seems like a Safer Choice, overall. And again, that's not saying a Lot!

****
Thank you, Baxter, for your last thoughts on the election.

Note that Baxter hadn't even gotten to the Democratic race. Now we have Hillary as the presumed nominee, and she and Trump (who believe me, I do find terrifying, especially now he's picked Mike Pence as VP, since he brings all that religious nonsense along with him and especially his anti-LGBT attitudes). But I also find it highly concerning that Hillary is disliked and distrusted nearly as much as Trump as this does not bode well for November.

The Republican convention starts on Monday. I wonder how crazy it will get. I look forward to watching Stephen Colbert Monday night, as I hear he and Jon Stewart are planning to do some convention coverage!

Watch this space... I haven't given up on blogging for good and hope to get back to writing a little more often. Facebook's format isn't formal enough to do any real writing, so I would like to address some issues over here, even without Baxter to help. Maybe Diva, being an old and wise dog, could help out now...

A Cat's Eye View: In it for the Long Haul

Baxter here. I am Complaining because there are Too Many Republicans. Here at My House, we were Thinking of Maybe watching the Republican "Debate" but in the End could not Bear to do it. How can there be any Sense made out of ten people answering Stupid Questions for Two Hours. What kind of Substantive Conversation can be had?

The Worst Thing is, there isn't even One Candidate that would make a Good President out of the Bunch of them. I don't know What this Country is coming to. And I think those with No Support Whatsoever (I'm looking at YOU, Chris Christie!) should Drop Out and let the other Bozos get more Air Time so Everyone can see what Idiots they all are.

Then on the Democratic side, there is the whole Hillary vs. Bernie Problem. Hillary supporters say Bernie can't Win so people should be Rooting for Hillary. They say don't Waste Your Vote on Bernie because he Can't Win. Bernie supporters, on the Other Hand, say Hillary is as Bad as the Republicans and if you Vote for Her you are as Bad as a Republican too.

Neither of these Opinions are True, in My Own Not-so-Humble Opinion. Why not Wait and See who Wins the Primaries? If you really Agree with Bernie, vote for him in the Primary. If he doesn't Win and Hillary is the Nominee, then vote for her in the General Election. Isn't that Simple? Oh, you are one of Those who say Hillary is no Better than a Republican? Have you SEEN who the Republicans are? Do you KNOW what they Believe? Check out this link.

You will see their Views on Many Subjects are direct Opposites of Hillary's OR Bernie's, especially when it comes to Family Planning and a Woman's Right to Choose. Check out their Views on Energy and Oil and Alternative Energy Sources. Compare their Civil Rights records and their Views on Global Warming. If you are a Democrat, you will realize there IS a difference between the Parties and that Hillary's views are a Lot Closer to Bernie's than You May Realize.

Then Keep in Mind that there will No Doubt be Supreme Court Appointments to be made in the coming Presidential Term. If Hillary is the Democratic Nominee and you Stay Home or Write in a Candidate You Prefer, then if one of these Republican Candidates wins the Election, you will have Only Yourself to Blame if we get a Completely Right Wing Supreme Court as a result.

Me, I am in it for the Long Haul. First, let's see who Emerges among the Republican Crew as the Actual Nominee. Then let's see who the Democratic Nominee is. And then things will Get Interesting. Right now it's all a Big Show.

So... Carry On with the Debates. Maybe by Next Spring they might Mean Something. In the Meantime, I think I will enjoy some Catnip and Relax.

A Cat's Eye View - Baxter has returned just in time for the election season!

Well, here I am again. I expect Many of you have wondered where I have Been; I suppose a Few have also wondered about the Disappearance of my Female Human over the past Year or so. Of course, not as many as would have missed Me. That Goes without Saying.

On My part, I have had a Bad Year, health-wise. In Fact, I may have used up one of my Nine Lives this past Year. It all started Last Fall when I started Losing Weight. That Female Human who sticks needles into Me and pokes at Me in that Office we go to (my Humans call her a Veterinarian, whatever that is) suspected I had something wrong with an Organ I apparently have called a Thyroid. She decided my Humans would have to shove some little White thing down my throat at Periodic Intervals in order to Fix the Problem.

Well, Needless to Say, I tried my Best to trick them out of being able to do this. If I see one of them coming, I Hide under the Bed until all risk of having that Thing shoved down my Throat is over. If it’s at Night, I just wait till they go to Bed and turn out the Light and then I can come out. Sometimes they try to Trick Me into eating it in my Food but I am Too Smart for them.

Nonetheless, I eventually had enough of these things (I believe they call them Pills) shoved down my Throat that the Veterinarian thought I should be gaining back the Weight I had lost. But I wasn’t. She got worried there was Something Else Wrong. After Several Months they finally decided I needed something called an Ultrasound. I was Dropped Off ignominiously at 8 a.m. one day at the Veterinarian’s Office and left in a CAGE (the horror!) until the Procedure was done. As it turned Out, I have some kind of Thickening in my Guts somewhere that could either be Cancer or Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The Veterinarian and my Female Human agreed that at My Age it wasn’t worth doing a Biopsy to find out which it is; the Treatment would work on either, one more long-term than the Other. I think they called it Prednisilone.

So now – to my Horror – I have to have TWO of these Pill things shoved down my Throat twice a day. I had gotten Very Thin – down to 8-1/2 lbs. -- when I was once a Hearty 23 lbs.! My Humans said I looked like a walking Furry Cat Skeleton. Lo and Behold, after 6 weeks on these New Pills, I have gained back 4 lbs. and am looking much more like my Old Self! On top of That, I have enough Energy to jump up on the Bed again instead of using the Cat Steps my Humans had put there for my Use. How do you like my New Look?

Sure, I sometimes still Manage to avoid taking the Pills but I know underneath that they may be what is Doing Me Good. So I get enough of them to Do the Job. My Humans hope it is the IBD and not the Cancer. Seems to Me if it were the Latter, I wouldn’t be doing as Well as I am!

So, now that I am feeling Better, I thought it was About Time that I went back to Blogging, as one of my Fans suggested to my Female Human recently on Facebook.

And just in Time, too – the Presidential Election Season has Already Begun! Oh my, I can’t Believe the number of crazy Candidates there seem to be on the Republican Side! And the Leading Candidate so far is that Donald Trump person – what on Earth is going on when more Republicans think he would be a Good President than any of the others? I am only a Cat, but even I can see he has no Qualifications to be President.

Then there’s the Neurosurgeon, Ben Carson. Being a Neurosurgeon doesn’t mean you’re smart. It means you are a Good Mechanic. You can cut open someone’s Brain and make a lot of delicate changes that require Steady Hands and a Knowledge of what Nerves are located Where. That is something you Memorize. But when it comes to Knowing Things outside of Medicine, or even Thinking Right in general, there is no need for that in that career.  And obviously, this one lacks both of those types of Knowledge. I mean, he doesn’t believe in Evolution, for One Thing. How can you be a doctor and not believe in Evolution? Even I know that we Cats weren’t always in this form. We are related to Big Cats like Sabre Toothed Tigers! I am proud of my Tiger heritage! It is obvious we Cats of all sizes have Common Ancestors. How can it not be Obvious to these Evolution-Deniers? He actually said that the basic Tenets of Evolution are "fairy tales" and compared the Similarities between various Species to different models of General Motors cars! 

Secondly, he obviously doesn't believe in the Constitution. To think that he would Say Outright that he would not "advocate" that a Muslim be "put in charge of this nation"! He later amended that to say “a Muslim who believes in Shariah Law.” Either one is Reprehensible given the Constitution says there should be “no religious test” to be President. But even if you go by his Amended Statement, what about Christians who are Fundamentalists and believe the nation should be governed by the Rules in the Christian Bible, which they believe unconditionally? Shouldn’t they also be Barred from the Presidency under his principle?

Then there’s Carly Fiorina, failed CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Another one with No Political Experience.  For what other Job would people with NO experience in the Job be the leading Candidates to get the Job? None, I daresay!

If they all Fail then Ted Cruz may have a chance to Win. I can’t even Go There…

The even halfway-reasonable Candidates like Kasich and Jeb Bush (I can’t Believe I am Saying that) haven’t Got a Chance! The Republican voters are Out of Control! It is Scary.

Of course, the Democrats have to have their own Drama too. Hillary Clinton was supposed to be the shoo-in for the Nomination – but of course, being a Clinton, there has to be a Scandal that comes out. Is it her Fault the Republicans jump all over her for everything they can dig up? Well, yes and no. She had a private email System at her home that she used for emails during her Tenure as Secretary of State. Maybe it wasn’t Technically Not Allowed at the Time she had it but it Didn’t Look Good. It seems as if the Clintons are not very good at avoiding things that Don’t Look Good. Sure, it may all depend on what the definition of “is” is, but in the End, if you are Smart, you don’t do things that Don’t Look Good at all, and then you don’t have these Problems.

So Bernie Sanders saw a Weakness and realized he might have a Chance! Bernie is probably the Least Likely to Succeed Candidate the Democrats could come up with in the current Climate of a Country constantly edging to the Right… he’s not even a Democrat, he describes himself as a “Democratic Socialist.” And you know how the Right loves to call anyone to the Left of Barry Goldwater a “Socialist” as a Pejorative Term. This guy actually calls HIMSELF a Socialist. That can’t go well.

That said, he embodies the Beliefs of a Whole Bunch of my Female Human’s Facebook friends, and, in all honesty, hers as well. She took one of those Tests where you answer Questions about various issues and then it tells you which Politician you most agree with. What did she get? Yep, 98% Bernie Sanders. And apparently a lot of other People agree with Bernie too. He is going up in the polls vs. Hillary, which will present a Quandary for Many practical Democrats. Do you vote for who you believe in, or who you believe will win in 2016?

My Humans have me up at that place they call The Cabin in the Mountains somewhere this Week and we can’t get CNN so I wasn’t able to watch the Democratic Debate the other Night. However, I hear Hillary acquitted herself Nicely and it went well for her.

It’s Too Soon to Tell how this will all Play Out, because we don’t know which Crazy Republican will be running in 2016! It all hinges on that.

So Stay Tuned. It should be an interesting Year! I hope my Health will Hold Out and I will be able to See What Happens! In the meantime, I can only Hiss at the craziness that is the United States election process…

This Blog is Not Dead Yet!

Where does the time go? I can't believe it's been five months since I - or more properly, Baxter - last posted. I miss reading everyone's blogs, but for some reason keep getting sucked into Facebook and end up in long conversations over there. One of the things I always liked about blogging was the conversations we have in the comments section, which Facebook seems to so easily supplant. However, I miss the effort it takes to actually think about a subject and write coherently about it, and even more so, read the excellent posts on other blogs. I must come over to the Blog World more frequently again.

So, for those who only know me from here, I apologize for being out of touch for so long.

I never did write a post on gun control as planned - as you can figure out, I am in favor of it - but did have some great discussions over on Facebook about it - so much so that one of my former FB friends unfriended me. She is a libertarian I had known from having worked together years ago, who had such strong feelings about the Second Amendment that she couldn't even bring herself to deal with me anymore.

We used to have what I thought were civil discussions about the issues we disagree on (which is most of them with the exception of some social issues), but apparently she just couldn't address the issue further and unfriended me! I was sorry, as I do value being able to discuss issues with people who don't agree with me so as to understand their perspective and also to know what the opposition is up to!

Now I have discovered a Facebook friend who friended me at some point is apparently an Islamist extremist, which I had no idea about until a post he made yesterday. I am thinking I should unfriend him before I find myself getting a visit from the FBI or CIA or something after they monitor my Facebook friends list!

Speaking of which, what are your thoughts about the U.S. surveillance program that Edward Snowden recently revealed to the world?

Personally, I was not shocked. It's not as if we didn't know the Patriot Act had plenty of questionable things in it that gave the government broad powers when it came to tracking terrorism.

But this does seem like a slippery slope, and I am disappointed that President Obama has supported these practices as well as other policies initiated under President Bush.

That said, I am very suspicious about this Snowden guy and how he happened to have access to the information he subsequently revealed.  Here's a high-school dropout who suddenly got a $122,000 a year job at a major government contractor, and immediately apparently had secret clearance (which usually takes a lot of time to get) - and then leaves after only 3 months to spill the beans to the world about what the government is doing to monitor American citizens' communications. Who is this guy? Who placed him where he had access to all this sensitive information, and why? I am not convinced he acted alone.

Now he's saying that we've been hacking into China's computer systems and the U.S. is afraid he may defect to China along with all the secrets he has compiled. While I understand some may applaud the revelation of the U.S. government surveillance program, this man has ultimately endangered the security of the United States and to me is more of a traitor than a hero. I'll be interested to hear others' thoughts about this.

In the next post, Baxter will tell you about his Great Escape on our recent trip to Cape Cod. More to come.

A Cat's Eye View: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Baxter here. A Belated Happy New Year to all my Fans.

As the Old Joke goes, I'm glad to be Here - in fact, I'm glad to be Anywhere!

Some of you may know that I had a Scary Health Problem a week or two ago. All of a Sudden I couldn't eat my Food properly! My Tongue hurt. It stuck out the Side of my Mouth and that made me Drool. It was Disgusting.

Luckily, as soon as my Humans noticed the Problem, they rushed me to the Animal Emergency and Referral Associates over in Fairfield, NJ; because of course this first popped up on a Friday night after the Regular Vet closed.

They are Wonderful People there, although I did not Appreciate being held and having them look at my Tongue. It turned out there was a Big Lump down there under my Tongue with a sore on it. The vet thought it was Cancer, but they couldn't tell until they did a Biopsy. So I spent the Whole Weekend at the AERA with an IV to keep me hydrated until they could Put Me Under on Monday morning and do the Biopsy. In the Meantime they gave me Steroids for inflammation.

By the time my Female Human picked me up on Tuesday morning I felt Great! I came Home and happily scarfed down a Whole Bowl of wet food. I purred. I rolled on the Bed. I was a New Cat.

Amazingly, the Biopsy turned out to be Normal - no Cancer! I am still taking Steroids, but am feeling Fine. I go back for a Checkup next Tuesday to see if the Problem is gone.

So that's the News from My perspective.

Now, for the Rest of the News. As Everyone knows by Now, the Fiscal Cliff Disaster didn't quite Happen. At the Last Minute the President and the Republicans were able to come to an Agreement to raise taxes on the Richer-than-Most-People, those making $400,000 or above as a Single Person, or on couples making $450,000 and higher, among Other Things. Plus, Federal Unemployment Benefits were Extended for a year. But none of the Budget Cuts that were originally part of the So-Called Cliff were enacted - that Fight is Yet to Come.

Now, I know Some of You feel that the President gave in to the GOP by allowing the Cutoff for being "Rich" to rise from $250,000 in income, which was the Original Idea, to $400-$450,000. But as a Cat, I look at it This Way. If there were a Big Tomcat over on one side of the Yard that had a big HUGE Two-Gallon Bucket full of Catnip, the difference between those two amounts would probably be the Difference between a Quarter Cup of Catnip vs. a Half Cup of Catnip out of that whole Two Gallon Bucket. So the Tax is going to be on the Rest of the Bucket, which is still a Lot. Right? Please do Correct Me if I am wrong in this Analogy. I am Only a Cat and we don't really Understand Taxes too well.

Looking Ahead, it seems the GOP still doesn't Admit that they Lost the Election in November. They vow to have a Big Fight over Raising the Debt Ceiling next month even though President Obama says he won't Fight about that subject. It Remains to be Seen whether he can avoid that Fight.

My Female Human will be back shortly to discuss Gun Control issues. In the Meantime, hang in there, the Days are already getting Longer and Winter cannot last Forever! Have some Catnip and Relax. I know I will!

P.S. My Female Human has added a Word Verification thingie to the Comments. There were Too Many spammy comments being Posted on the Blog. Apologies to Our Loyal Readers for having to Put you through that Annoyance.

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. It's been awhile, but don't think I have Forgotten my Fans. I have just been Waiting for this Election business to be Over. It was all Too Much for Me.

I am just Glad that it turned out the Way it did and that we didn't have another Big Mess like back in 2000, as some were worried we would. Of course, I knew a Cool Cat like President Obama would know the right way to get back in the White House for four more years!

He sure didn't have much of a Second Honeymoon, though, did he?

Boom, right after the Election came the News that General Petraeus, the Director of the CIA, had been Fooling Around with his Biographer, Paula Broadwell - and then came all kinds of other Stories about these hot Twin Sisters, Jill Kelley and Natalie Khawam, who were hanging around all the Generals.

Amusingly to Me, these stories always refer to the Twins as "Socialites,"  a rather Quaint Term. Reminds My Humans of a Tom Waits song called Invitation to the Blues.  "He probably left her for a socialite, didn't love her 'cept at night, and then he's drunk and didn't even tell her that he cared..."
But I digress... sorry...

Apparently the former head of the CIA is spending his Days "grovelling" to his wife of 38 years, Holly, according to an Article in the UK's Daily Mail. My Female Human doesn't blame his Wife for being Furious, which is how her Mood is described by Those in the Know.

Even though it was Broadwell that had the Affair with the General, the Involvement of the Twin Socialites also seemed Rather Suspicious... something my Female Human felt was particularly Obvious in this Picture which has been Published far and wide, of the two Women, Petraeus (second from left) and Holly (far right) along with Jill's husband, in the center.

Two of these things are Not Like the Others, wouldn't you say?

In Fact, it has all Become so Convoluted and Involved so Many People in the Cast of Characters that the Borowitz Report posted an Article saying the CIA has come out with a Pamphlet to help you know whether YOU may be part of the Petraeus Scandal without even knowing it!

It is also being Reported that Paula Broadwell, who is married with two Children, is "devastated" by the Harm caused by the Fling between her and the General.

Ah, Humans... what is that Old Saying? "What a tangled Web we Weave, when First we Practice to Deceive."

Just goes to Show that perhaps Male Humans should be Neutered, just like Tomcats are, so they won't be Getting Into Trouble when they are past their Prime and vulnerable to Younger Women's wiles.

Or, per the Cartoon that Some have been Posting over on Facebook, maybe this is what Happens when you Allow Heterosexuals to Serve Openly in the Military?

At Any Rate, this Scandal is finally moving Off the front pages since it's been a Couple of Weeks and we're Off to the Races again with the Fiscal Cliff looming.

My Female Human says if she hears the words "Fiscal Cliff" one more time, she Won't Be Responsible For Her Actions.

President Obama Won the Election. I Hope he will use his "Political Capital" as They call it, to Stand Firm and not let the Republicans walk all Over Him during negotations. So Far So Good, as far as I can tell. For all the Latest News about the Fiscal Cliff, here's a Good Article. A few Choice Quotes to follow. The first, from GOP House Majority Leader Boehner:

"Mr. Boehner said that the White House needs to get serious about offering specific spending cuts they would put on the table towards a potential deal. 'All eyes are on the White House, the country doesn’t need a victory lap, it needs leadership,' Mr. Boehner said at a press conference in the Capitol."

This was countered by a Response from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

"Mr. Reid said it was incumbent on House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) to put forward a realistic offer in response to Democrats’ plan to allow tax rates on the wealthiest Americans to increase at the end of the year. Mr. Reid said that Mr. Geithner has not made a new offer to Republicans as both sides try to broker a tax and spending deal before the end of the year. 'The president’s made the offer–there’s no offer to be made,' Mr. Reid told a handful of reporters as he walked into his offices. 'There’s no offer to be made.'"

Ah, Humans. They continue to Spar like a bunch of Tomcats Yowling in a Circle, hoping One will finally get the Upper Hand and get a Good Grip on the back of their Opponent's Neck.

The Good News I see is that at least President Obama apparently hasn't already Given Away the Farm up Front, as he was wont to do in the Beginning of his first Term. There is No Sense in him Offering ANY cuts in Medicare, Social Security or Medicaid. Let the Republicans make that Suggestion. Otherwise the Republicans will take Whatever the President Offers in Cuts and then want MORE. Plus this way, it is Obvious that it would be the Republicans who want to Cut these Programs that are Very Popular with the people!

In Other Good News, Senator Dick Durbin said that Social Security should NOT be part of the Fiscal Cliff talks as it does not contribute to the Deficit.

Let's Hope that the fact that some Republicans are finally Rejecting their Pledge to Grover Norquist to Never Raise Taxes may Actually lead to Progress in the Talks. But I'm not Holding My Breath. So far I don't see a Lot of Compromising going on on the GOP side. It may Take Awhile for the Fact they Lost to really Sink In. If it ever does.

With that, I will Bid you Farewell for Now. I think we will All need a Lot of Catnip to get through the End of the Year. Hopefully January 1 won't Find us at the Bottom of the Fiscal Cliff!

Down to the Wire

Well, here it is, finally - the last day before the 2012 election. And things are looking relatively good for President Obama, thanks to the October Surprise that turned out to be Hurricane Sandy.

According to Nate Silver, the President now has an 86% chance of winning reelection, thanks to leads in the battleground states and a growing lead in the polls for the popular vote (now at 50.6 vs. 48.5). Although Silver says there are plenty of other reasons that Obama has rebounded since his performance at the first debate, I have no doubt that the hurricane and its aftermath did play a part in Romney's recent slippage.

I live in New Jersey, which, along with New York City, suffered the worst damage in the storm. Thankfully for us here in Northern New Jersey, the worst we got was a lot of downed trees and power lines. Since the rain wasn't that bad, we were spared the flooding we got last year during Hurricane Irene. But as everyone knows by now, the Jersey Shore was virtually destroyed and will take a long time to rebuild.

The destruction in New York City and New Jersey brought an endorsement for President Obama from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an Independent former Republican, who said he thought the president is best equipped to do something about climate change, which he said the storm made clear was an important issue.

And, even more importantly, Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, who gave the keynote speech at Romney's convention, praised the President's response to the hurricane and accompanied him on a tour of the devastation at the Jersey Shore.

"Christie told news outlets that the president’s response had been 'outstanding,' said that coordinating with the administration had been 'wonderful,' and remarked that 'the president has been all over this and he deserves great credit.' He even told Fox News the president had done a 'great job for New Jersey' while staying above the fray about politics: 'I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than presidential politics, and I could care less about any of that stuff.'" 

After receiving criticism from the Romney camp for his embrace of President Obama during the crisis, Christie reiterated his support for Romney but refused to back down on his praise for the President.

"'I'm a Republican, I've endorsed Mitt Romney and I support him. I intend to vote for him on Tuesday,'" Christie said. 'But the fact of the matter is that if the President of the United States comes here and he is willing to help my people, and he does it, then I'm going to say nice things about him because he's earned it.'"

In the meantime, Romney didn't do himself any favors by cynically calling an already-planned campaign rally a "storm relief rally" and actually buying some of the "donations" that supporters then picked up to "donate" to hurricane victims. It also doesn't help that he ignored the fact that the Red Cross discourages physical donations and prefers monetary aid, as sorting and shipping actual goods just takes more time, when it is usually faster to use the money to buy goods from locations closer to the center of the crisis. (You can go here to donate to the Red Cross, by the way!)

Romney's campaign also shot itself in the foot by airing deceptive commercials in Ohio during this same time period that warned Jeep and General Motors were sending jobs to China. Both Chrysler (which owns Jeep) and GM emphatically denied the accuracy of the ads.

So the general public saw President Obama acting presidential, suspending his campaign to look at storm damage, putting politics aside and joining a Republican governor in commiserating over his state's losses, while his opponent was holding a storm disaster campaign photo op and airing commercials that people knew were lies. Romney supporters shouldn't wonder why their candidate has lost his momentum and President Obama is pulling ahead.

But nothing is certain yet, as Republican governors in Florida and Ohio are doing their darnedest to suppress the vote in their states by limiting early voting, making sure there are horrendously long lines to vote in the (mostly) Democratic areas of their states, and any other strategies they can come up with.

In contrast, Christie has tried to make it easier for those displaced by the storm in New Jersey to vote, by adding early voting opportunities at county clerks' offices, extending the ability to vote by email to all citizens of the state, and allowing people to vote using provisional ballots if they are currently staying in a location outside of their usual voting area.

I am no fan of Christie, but I am very impressed with his fairness and bipartisanship during this crisis. There are certainly a lot worse Republican governors - and the ones in Ohio and Florida come to mind.

This is a very close election and every vote counts. Be sure your voice is heard and go to the polls tomorrow, if you haven't already voted early or with an absentee ballot!

Romney, Rape and the Republicans

Hi all, sorry for my long absence. I have been busily posting political thoughts over on Facebook and getting into lots of conversations but have not gotten around to posting here for much too long.

But now that the race is near the end and there is a very real possibility that Romney might manage to win the presidency with his sudden turnaround to Mr. Moderate, I felt I needed to write more about what a Romney presidency would mean.

It seems Romney's plan all along was to veer hard right for the primaries and then, as one of his advisers memorably said, use the "Etch-a-Sketch" and get rid of all that in time for the fall campaign when moderates and independents become important in the race. At the time, the comment was seen as a gaffe, but it turns out that is exactly what he had in mind all along. And the Democrats didn't see it coming. No doubt that is one reason President Obama seemed so flummoxed in that first debate; he came prepared with all kinds of anti-far-right rhetoric and there was Romney, blithely making statements supporting moderate positions on subjects he had previously been "severely conservative."

Or at least, he made it seem that way. His dissembling was particularly noticeable in his claims about his stance on health care. Contraception? Oh, he's for it. All women should have access to contraception. But he, and unfortunately, President Obama, did not point out that the whole difference was the President's plan requires women's insurance to cover contraception and Romney's plan would not.

Pre-existing conditions? Oh, yes, a Romney plan would cover those. But of course he didn't say that his plan was simply a return to the current situation we already have - people who have already had insurance can continue being covered despite pre-existing conditions. It doesn't help anyone who hasn't been insured already, although the individual states could choose to cover them - again, no change from current policy. The pre-existing conditions lie was such a whopper his spokespeople had to explain it after the debate - when all the undecided voters had stopped paying attention.

So who is the real Mitt Romney? Apparently there isn't one. Mitt Romney is whoever he needs to be to get elected. The real question is, who are his masters? Who is he beholden to? It seems pretty obvious - The far right. Grover Norquist. The Tea Party. Right-wing evangelic Christians.

Heck, Grover Norquist himself said it doesn't really matter who is president as long as he signs the legislation that comes to his desk. And, if he wins, that person would be Romney.

"All we have to do is replace Obama. We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget... We just need a president to sign this stuff."

So whatever Mitt's real beliefs, if he has them, he will be kowtowing to the far right end of his party. He chose Paul Ryan as a running mate to do just that. Ryan's positions are what are "severely conservative." Ryan's proposed budget would change the tax structure, lowering the top bracket to 25% from 35%, as well as making Medicare into a voucher program and making Medicaid into a block grant program administered solely by the states.

Romney has distanced himself from the Ryan budget, coming out with his own budget. However, his budget includes a large increase in military spending, as well as lower taxes, which he said could be covered by getting rid of unidentified loopholes. According to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, in order for Romney's budget to work, it would require cuts in many programs that help the elderly, veterans, disabled people and poor children.

"For the most part, Governor Romney has not outlined cuts in specific programs.  But if policy­makers repealed health reform (the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) and exempted Social Security from cuts, as Romney has suggested, and cut Medicare, Medicaid, and all other entitlement and discretionary programs by the same percentage to meet Romney’s overall spending cap and defense spending target, then they would have to cut non-defense programs other than Social Security by 22 percent in 2016 and 34 percent in 2022...  If they exempted Medicare from cuts for this period, the cuts in other programs would have to be even more dramatic — 32 percent in 2016 and 53 percent in 2022."

Then there is the "war on women." For some reason this year the Republicans have been very focused on rape. Legitimate rape, forcible rape, other kinds of rape. Many of these discussions about rape pertain to the issue of abortion and pregnancy that occurs as a result of rape. And in Pennsylvania, there is proposed legislation requiring mothers on welfare to prove they were raped before they would be allowed to collect additional funds to support a new baby.

So, why are Republicans so fixated on rape? Because in their eyes, if a woman is raped, it wasn't her fault she got pregnant. She didn't have sex in order to enjoy it, heaven forbid. It was forced on her - and it better have been done forcibly, because after all, "some girls rape easy."  If she just had sex voluntarily, out of desire, then she should reap what she sows, even if she was being responsible and using birth control that failed. She made her bed, let her lie in it. And of course the man had nothing to do with it, did he? No blame falls on him. It's all about controlling women.

Republican Richard Mourdock, who was recently criticized for his comments saying that pregnancy as a result of rape is something God intended, is just one of several Republicans, including Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan, who don't believe in abortion even in the cases of rape and incest. But you know what? I don't really have a problem with that. If their belief is that life begins at conception, then an exception for rape or incest makes no sense at all. Either it's a life or it isn't. And if that's what you believe, fine - just don't impose that belief on everyone else.

Again, even the rape/incest exception is an example of the blame game against women - if the woman didn't mean to have sex, then it's OK to kill the fetus. Otherwise the woman should be forced to have that baby because again, she should reap what she sows.

Unfortunately, the idea of making the exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother, is now being construed as a "moderate" position in the Republican party. As Gail Collins points out in today's New York Times,

" One of the truly disturbing parts of our current politics is that we have begun to identify people who want to impose their religious beliefs on millions of women who don’t share them as moderates as long as they’re O.K. with the rape exemption."

The real shame of the whole "pro-life" stance in the Republican party is that they only care about that baby before it's born - afterwards, that baby and its mom are on their own. Don't expect handouts from the government to support that kid! Oh, and if he turns out to be a criminal, they have no problem with the death penalty. This has never made any sense to me either.

If anyone thinks Romney doesn't endorse these antediluvian positions on women's right to choose, remember he said he would support amendments to the constitution proclaiming life begins at conception and that marriage is between a man and a woman. He also pledges to take away federal funding from Planned Parenthood, which provides needed health care to many low income women.

And if he has the opportunity to appoint one or more Supreme Court Justices - which is extremely likely - he will appoint justices who would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade and who would be favorable to a constitutional amendment supporting marriage as being only between a man and a woman. According to his own website, "As president, Mitt will nominate judges in the mold of Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito."

Then there's the whole issue of racism in the Republican camp. Every time I try to believe that racism isn't at the core of many Republicans' antipathy toward President Obama, another reminder smacks me in the face that yes, obviously, that is part of it. The coded and not-so-coded words (Sarah Palin, "shuck and jive"??? Really???) - Obama being hanged in effigy - and now, most recently, John Sununu, co-chair of Romney's campaign, accusing former Secretary of State Colin Powell of endorsing President Obama due to racism. Of course, he later backed off of his comments - but that is the Republican way: put it out there, send your signal, then say, "Oh, I didn't mean it like that."

Don't even get me started on climate change and the environment. Suffice it to say that Romney says he loves coal and would love to drill for oil and gas on public lands and in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and wants to gut environmental regulations.

So what is the upshot of all this? A Mitt Romney presidency would be bad for:

Women
The poor
Children
The middle class
The elderly
LGBT people
The environment

The only people it would be good for is the richest 1% of the population, and the military-industrial complex.

We are better than this. We must ensure that President Obama gets another four years to enact his policies.

Now we have the "storm of the century" bearing down on the eastern coast of the U.S. Let's hope it does not disrupt these elections. Voter turnout for President Obama's supporters is key. Let's make sure everyone gets to the polls and votes! This election could not be more important!

Haiku Sunday

It's been a lazy weekend for me. Yesterday we lounged around on the deck and had a couple of beers and then headed over to our neighbor's for the first barbecue of the season. As usual, I was one of the ones still sitting on their wonderful wraparound porch drinking wine and talking at 2 a.m. We never stay out that late ordinarily, but since this is three houses down from our house, DH could wander home at his preferred time of about 10 p.m. and I was able to stay until the bitter end!

Today was also spent out on the deck in the sunshine (I can't remember the last time we were able to be out on our deck in New Jersey in both March and April for many days in a row!). Now DH is staining the deck in preparation for the official deck season and I'm trying to come up with some haiku for a Sunday afternoon...

Santorum is out
Looks like it will be Romney
Less scary, still bad

Which Romney is he?
The right-wing conservative
Or that other guy?

You know who I mean,
The one who was governor
And passed that health care

It had a mandate
Just like Obama's plan has
He thought it was great!

And another thing:
He supported the women
Said he was pro-choice

But that's all over;
He's against "Obamacare"
And Planned Parenthood!

So which one is it?
Both sides are in a quandary
Who is the real Mitt?

Right-wingers worry
He's really the liberal
That he seemed back then

Liberals worry
That he now means what he says
And lied in the past.

Such a conundrum.
But if you're a liberal
Your choice is still clear

Vote for Obama;
And you won't have to worry
Which Mitt is for real.

It's Always Something!

Well, just when I think things are going to settle down and be peaceful, something else happens. My 91-year-old aunt fell and broke her hip a few days ago. Now she's in the hospital and will need to go into rehab. Luckily she made it through the surgery to put the pin in her leg with flying colors - they used a spinal instead of general anesthesia and she did great. She is doing well and they think she will be able to walk fine once she finishes rehabilitation.

Of course that is not my only excuse for not posting for awhile. We actually managed to go up to the cabin in the Adirondacks last weekend for four days. The weather up there has been as unseasonably mild as it has been down in New Jersey. So we figured, why not go up? There was no snow on the ground whatsoever, very unusual for that area in February.

However, our gravel "road" (if you can dignify it with that description) was covered in a sheet of ice. All moisture tends to gather on the road and flow down the hill, whether from melting snow or from rain. However, our Jeep Rubicon lived up to its reputation. We were able to get up that hill by running the Jeep along the side of the road where the leaves were, rather than on the slick ice. We just had to put it in 4-wheel-drive, "low low" (an extra low gear just for this model) AND lock the axles. Not a problem! It was a relaxing weekend and I have to admit I did not get on the computer much at all.

So, in the meantime, the politics of the GOP nomination continue to be volatile! Just when you thought Gingrich had subsided and things might be smoothing out for Romney, Santorum goes and wins in caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado, and in a "non-binding" primary in Missouri. As a result, new money has poured into his campaign. It's like that old whack-a-mole game. You get one of them and another one pops up!

It is obvious that many GOP primary-goers just don't like Mitt. They try but they just can't do it. What scares me is that Santorum represents the most right-wing, theocratic side of the GOP, and any votes that put him anywhere near being a possible nominee for the Republicans is a very scary thought.

Santorum is a man who is so homophobic he talked about gay sex in the context of "man on dog," and he is against birth control for women, although he says he doesn't want to ban birth control. He just thinks it would be good if states were allowed to ban birth control. Even Ireland doesn't ban birth control anymore! What century does this man live in?

Think it can't happen? The "personhood" amendments being pushed by Republicans would do just that, if they ever passed. Many forms of birth control would be considered ending the life of a "person." Even Mississippi voted that idea down. But it keeps popping up again in other states. According to Personhood USA, activists are trying to get personhood measures on the ballot in at least 12 states in November 2012!

"For now, it’s unclear how many of the personhood proposals will actually go before voters later this year. Authorities have given the green light to gather signatures for proposed ballot measures in Colorado, Ohio, Montana and California, while legislators in Kansas, Virginia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Alabama and Georgia have been working on bills that could lead to personhood referendums.

In Nevada and Arkansas, personhood campaigns also are in place, but have been slowed by disputes over the wording of proposed ballot measures. In Florida, anti-abortion activists are gearing up to seek a referendum in 2014."

Whatever else you want to say about Election Year 2012, it isn't dull; and it isn't inconsequential. There are HUGE issues at stake in this election, especially if by some chance Romney doesn't get the nomination. Anyone who wonders whether there is that much of a difference between the Republicans and the Democrats, between Romney and Obama, had better look hard at the issues that matter to them.

Maybe President Obama hasn't been the most liberal Democrat ever elected; but he is certainly way more "liberal" than anything the GOP will come up with, even Romney. Keep that in mind when thinking about things like Supreme Court appointments, the environment, reproductive rights, civil rights, and more.

A Cat's Eye View - of Ron Paul

Baxter here. Sorry to have been Silent for so Long but I am at the Mercy of the Humans in terms of when I can Blog or not. Luckily my Female Human has taken it into her Head to get back to the Business of Blogging again and is giving me the Access I deserve to expound on My Opinions here. It's not that I can't Type, but I am not Very Good at the management of Software and I don't know HTML so my Human has to help a little when I want to do things like make things bold or whatever. And I have Strong Opinions so I need some bold now and then!

OK, so where was I? Oh yes, Ron Paul. The so-called Libertarian among the GOP field. As a Cat, I am sure you would understand that I like the idea of being a Libertarian. There is no one more Libertarian than Cats. Dogs are certainly NOT Libertarians. They do whatever their Masters want, or at least they try to. Sometimes their Brains are Too Relaxed to understand what is Wanted. But if they figure it out, they'll do it. Well, maybe except That Dog they call Diva. She tends to do what SHE wants. But the New One, Angel, she tries to Please; except for one thing - she still wants to chase Me and Bark. But I digress.

Many Humans who usually think Progressively tend to kind of like the idea of Ron Paul. Not Ron Paul himself, mind you, but their IDEA of Ron Paul. They think of him as Someone who would get Government out of their Hair and Leave them Alone. They also know that, unlike front-runner Romney, he thinks legalization of Marijuana should be left to the states and there should not be a federal law against it, which they think is kind of Cool - and that he was against the War in Iraq, also a Good Thing in many People's Eyes. But they may not have read the Details of his other ideas on the issues. If they did, they would be Much More Concerned about Mr. Paul. For instance:

He is "Pro-Life," saying he believes Life begins at Conception and Roe vs. Wade should be reversed. In addition, he opposes any Government Funding for Things People Don't Believe in - which in this case means:

"Ron Paul will also protect the American people’s freedom of conscience by working to prohibit taxpayer funds from being used for abortions, Planned Parenthood, or any other so-called “family planning” program."

Now, as a Neutered Cat, issues of Contraception have No Interest to Me. But I'm sure there are Many Progressive Female Humans who would find these Ideas Alarming. I also wonder, if Conservatives think the "American People" should not have to have their Taxes go toward Things they Don't Believe In, why does that only apply to Things Conservatives Don't Believe In? Shouldn't Liberals and Progressives have the Right to refuse having their Taxes go toward Things They Don't Believe In either? Like, for instance, My Humans would Choose not to have their Taxes go toward Wars and Military Spending. Why should the Consciences of Conservatives be the Federal Government's only Concern?

Ron Paul has More Ideas. Lots of them. For instance, he wants to Abolish the Income Tax, the "Death" Tax, the Capital Gains Tax, and the Federal Gas Tax. Oh, but he also wants to Balance the Budget. I Wonder how he would Do That? Sounds Confusing to Me; but of course, I am Only a Cat.

As for Energy, Paul is of the Drill, Baby, Drill! mindset. More Oil! More Gas! Nuclear Power! Coal! Oh, and Abolish the EPA - that's just a Lot of Troublemakers Ruining the Economy and keeping our Energy Prices up!
"As President, Ron Paul will lead the fight to:

* Remove restrictions on drilling, so companies can tap into the vast amount of oil we have here at home.

* Repeal the federal tax on gasoline. Eliminating the federal gas tax would result in an 18 cents savings per gallon for American consumers.

* Lift government roadblocks to the use of coal and nuclear power.

* Eliminate the ineffective EPA. Polluters should answer directly to property owners in court for the damages they create – not to Washington."

I particularly Love the idea that Property Owners would have to Go to Court to get Polluters to pay for the Damages they create. How would that work, exactly? My Humans would have to sue the owner of the local Gas Station or the nearby Industrial Brownfield for the contamination of the Groundwater? And wouldn't that Clog up the Courts indefinitely? Or better yet, for Mr. Paul, I guess he figures People would get Tired of having to Sue to get anything or wouldn't be able to Afford the Lawyer Fees and Big Polluters would just Get Away With It.

Home-Schooling? He's all for it.

"Ron Paul believes no nation can remain free when the state has greater influence over the knowledge and values transmitted to children than the family does.

And the truth is, no big government spending program can or will solve our nation’s education problems."

Personally, I would rather the Human Children be Taught by Professionals and not a bunch of Evolution-Denying, Anti-Intellectual Parents who will Brainwash the Kids to grow up thinking Just Like Them. And the More People who Homeschool, the fewer People will be paying for Public Education (Mr. Paul, of course, wants these Parents to get a Tax Credit for Homeschooling their Kids) and Public Education will Continue to Go Downhill.

What about Guns and the Second Amendment, you may ask. Well, of course, Ron Paul is all Pro-Second Amendment and Pro-Gun!

"With our gun rights under constant attack from our own government and the anti-gun United Nations, as well as the threat of rising crime due to our country’s economic woes, Congressman Paul believes it has never been more important that our President be 100% committed to defending our God-given right to keep and bear arms."

(Of course we All Know how much God likes us to have Guns; that's why it is our God-Given Right to have them!)

True, some Progressives and Liberals will like some of his Ideas on the Military. After all, who Among Us would argue that there is a lot of Waste in the Military Budget, and that we probably don't need to give Money to "Rich Dictators." And it probably IS a Good Idea to follow the Constitution and have Congress Declare War before actually going to War.

But to Me, as a Liberal Cat, his other Ideas are Just Too Dangerous. I hope my Fellow Liberals and Progressives will read Mr. Paul's positions Very Carefully.

So that's It from Me today. I hope you Enjoy Your Weekend and Have Enough Catnip to Get Through this Election Season. It's only going to Get Worse before it Gets Better!