1968 Is The Wrong Comparison For 2020

I have no patience for those voices who claim that 1968 is the year for us to compare 2020 to in terms of dynamic similarities, as it's the wrong analogy. The right election years to compare 2020 to are 1980 and 1992. 1980 and 1992 were years of immense change in how certain regions had aligned themselves politically. Some states, like California. were Republican-leaning swing states prior to 1992; while others, such as Texas, had been Democratic-leaning swing states prior to 1980. 2020 is shaping up to be a year along those same dynamics again. 

What Donald Trump And The Republican Party's Race-Baiting Shows

This is a truth lost on no one, which is that Donald Trump is flailing in the various polls that have come out. This would also explain the reason for his and the Republican Party's continual race-baiting; they have nothing to run on, except for that. The economy has gone out the window and with the Trump Administration's bungled response to COVID-19, no one in their right mind would want to keep the Republicans in power. Dishonest, corrupt and incompetent; those are the best words to describe the Republican Party these days. The fact that they're being brazenly open about their not bothering to govern is a travesty in itself.

Trump and the Republicans turning to race-baiting illustrates that they've acknowleged that their credibility has disappeared and that they need a scapegoat of some kind to serve as a perfectly placed distraction. No amount of lying can get them out of the jam they're in, and they know this. The only way for them to save what power they do have is for the Democrats to nominate a candidate that no one wants as an alternative. This is classic Republican campaign tactics at work: make someone else the problem, make something else the issue. This didn't help the Republicans in both the 2006 and 2018 midterm elections, nor in the 2008 presidential election. Those 3 election cycles saw the Republicans take steep losses at the polls from having nothing to campaign on. 

Republicans And Likud Have Gone Too Far

Recent actions taken against 2 Democratic Representatives by both the Republicans and Likud have gone way too far. Likud is to blame on the following reason: Under Benjamin Netanyahu's "leadership," they've institiuted an entry ban for 2 duly elected Democratic Representatives just because they had the temerity to call out their continued violations of international law at the request of the Trump Administration.

But what really blows this out of the water is some anti-Semitic comments from Donald Trump himself and the opening that it's given to anti-Semites to come out accusing American Jews of disloyalty to both America and Israel by voting Democratic, and not Republican, electorally. There are going to be more lines like this coming from Republicans over the next several months, primarily those who are either running in their 1st election, or present incumbents running for re-election.

How this ties back to Likud if it's only Republican surrogates campaigning on Trump's behalf is fairly simple: Many of the conspiracy theories being thrown out by Trump's camp have also been used by Likud for years; especially with regards to the question of who is a Jew. The Likud-led governing coalition in Israel has had several rank-and-file memebers come out falsely accusing American Jews of not being Jewish at all, and of being disloyal to their homeland by openly criticizing it. That premise is complete and utter horseshit.

Fuck this putz. Saying that Jews are disloyal for voting Democratic. Both he and the unholy warrior in the White House have no basis for making the implied remark that voting for Democrats is abandoning Israel. #FuckTrump https://t.co/gFPlt4vxHg

— jgsf1987 (@jgsf1987) August 22, 2019

It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2019

Mitch McConnell Going Full Racist

Just when we've thought that we already hit rock bottom with regards to Mitch McConnell, he always manages to prove us wrong. Yesterday, apparently, was no exception. In the video below, you'll see just how low he managed to sink.

In the end, it really comes as little surprise that he decided to go with that racist low-blow. Don't assume that this is a first for McConnell because sadly it isn't by any stretch. The fact remains that he's one of those, as I like to call them, Cranky Old White Guys (Translation: Angry Old White Men). If you run a search on either Google or Bing, you can find several million examples of McConnell engaging in racist conduct.

If McConnell's commentary illustrates anything, it's that the Republican Party at-large has a racism problem. This is also a sign that the party is dying from within after having moved so far to the right that it's no longer within the mainstream anymore. We're likewise seeing the conservative movement coming apart at the seams, too.

Petitions For The People's Lobby

For those who are new to viewing this blog (1st of all, welcome), the People's Lobby is an advocacy organization that fights for the voices of the American people who aren't part of the elite. I've been in contact with the organization's sole director/administrator, Dwayne Hunn, for the last year or so. He's got 2 petitions up for signing and sharing, so if you have a chance: please do so. The petitions are here and here.

The first petition is about getting law makers to raise the effective taxation level of the wealthiest Americans and most profitable corporations. Increasing their rate will help to close the budget gaps we're currently facing as a result of the Republican's tax-cuts. It will also make it so that we have the money to establish the Medicare-for-All system and tuition-free public colleges that Bernie Sanders had advocated for back in 2016.

The other has to do with creating a World Service/Jobs Corps as a 21st-Century recalibration of the Peace Corps. This would give Americans the opportunity to engage in an additional form service to country to serving in the Military. This would be a better use of our foreign policy resources, as it's a great way for us to engage in soft-power diplomacy. Plus we'll get the added advantage of winning the hearts and minds of people in the countries we're aiding. Especially when the living conditions foster an environment for political and/or religious extremism. 

2019 Is Going To Be 1 Hell Of An Interesting Year

There’s no denying that because of the outcome of the 2018 midterms, 2019 is shaping up to be a real interesting ride now that Donald Trump is practically cornered. How much more mayhem he’ll cause is still a massive unknown, but 1 thing is definitely clear, it’s not going to be a pretty picture. What happens now is dependent on what he chooses to use next as a conveniently placed distraction.

Why We Should Still Turn Out Regardless Of What The Republicans And Their Far-Right Goons Do To Keep Us Away From The Polls

From voter suppression to voter intimidation, it’s pretty clear to see that the Republican Party is growing desperate to hang on to their status as America’s majority party. That reason alone is exactly why we need to still come out and make our voices heard in the upcoming midterm election in 2 weeks. If you live in a Republican-controlled state, don’t let yourself be intimidated out of exercising your right to vote.

As Barack Obama correctly pointed out in a video on Youtube, voting is the only way to improve our already dire circumstances. Now is not the time to become disengaged. Let’s answer his call by heading out to the polls on November 6.

Seeing The Left Destroy Itself

I know that I wrote about how the Right was destroying itself last year, but I think it's time to give the Left its due. The biggest problem is that the "leadership" is doing everything humanly possible to prevent anything meaningful from being enacted. This is a massive problem when the Democrats are holding America hostage just to fatten Corporate America's wallet (the GOP notwithstanding), while only pretending to care about the issues that actually matter to the electorate. At this point the Democratic National Committee has lost its mind, only carrying on (until about last week or so) Hillary Clinton's post-election media tantrum. Be it about Donald Trump's supposed connections to Russia, or how everyone who voted for someone other than Clinton as a mysogynist. That's just a couple of examples, but it paints the picture of how badly out-of-touch the "Left" (and I'm being very generous to the Democratic Party's current leadership) has become. Until there's a revolt from within, there's no way for the left to actually assert itself in America's political dialogue. Especially when we're fighting the very worst elements of the far-right.

The Reign Of The Incompetent

Seeing that it's been almost a month since Donald Trump's been in office, and it's been nothing but non-stop incompetence. Pitiful, as it makes George W. Bush actually look competent in comparison. Luckily this is temporary, as we got the 2018 Midterm Election coming up in a little more than a year from now. In the meantime, we have to keep organizing and pushing to bring the change we desperately need.