Congressional members with NRA blood on their hands

Rep. John Kline

Recipients of cash from the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) (1988-2016) who refuse to pass gun control laws that would save lives, as reported by The Nation magazine. Call them today!

Congressman: Rep. John Kline (R-MN)

Total amount received: $40,750
Tel. Number: (202) 225-2271

Trump's presidential run one big bait & switch

Is Donald Trump neurotic?

Donald Trump has reversed himself on many, if not most, of the major issues of his run for president. The poor uneducated redneck souls that so loyally supported him must be seething over these reversals. Considering the vitriol with which he delivered these promises, the Academy Awards should set aside a special Oscar for him this year. Or is the man neurotic and devious enough to have just convinced himself and a portion of the voting public?

Any way you look at it, it is a classic case of bait and switch. Republicans were sure they had lost the Party to an ego maniac who was interested only in national attention for him and his businesses. Well those three factors haven't changed but Trump, for some reason even many political experts haven't figured out, has changed course aligning himself more along party lines. Like his Cabinet picks that "...hew closely to what Republicans have advocated for decades."

He campaigned on the premise that he would be an "unconventional president capable of taking positions all along the political spectrum." It's not clear whether the GOP establishment scared him, if that's possible in Donald Trump's mentality, but what is clear is the fact that this man is now playing ball with the Republican Party, whether he knows it or not. Not only that but he is playing by many of their rules that he so vehemently disparaged before the election.

"David Brooks of The New York Times said that Trump is a threat to the party loyalty that has dominated American politics. 'He is hostile to the Republican establishment,' Brooks wrote. 'His proposals cut across orthodox partisan lines.'" Most think Donald Trump's intentions are to undo most of what the Obama administration accomplished. He'll certainly have a partner in the Senate's resident idiot, Mitch McConnell. Speaking of McConnell...

 "The transportation secretary-to-be, Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, had a solid, anti-union record when she was secretary of labor under President George W. Bush. Chao is well-networked in the most "establishment" Republican circles of Washington."

God help us! 

Trump goes haywire over Clinton's popular vote

Donald Trump harried

And here is another prime example of Donald Trump's instability; he continues to be riled over the fact that Hillary Clinton is more than 2.3 million ahead of him in the popular vote. Instead of enjoying the fact that the Electoral College deemed him President--although that is currently in contention--and going on with the job of planning his presidency, he broods like some second grader who lost his crayons on the way to school. Here's his tweet:

"In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."

To begin with, he didn't win the Electoral College in a landslide (306 to 232). Barack Obama won in a landslide in 2008, 365 to McCain's 173. And there is absolutely no evidence the 2016 popular vote was "illegal," although Jill Stein has embarked on a crusade if there were mistakes made or anything intentional favoring Trump in her state recounts. In 2012 Trump made this statement:

"The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy."

Then, a week after the election:

"The Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play. Campaigning is much different!"

Unstable on the one hand and indecisive on the other. Excellent qualities for a president.

Congressional members with NRA blood on their hands

Rep. Hal Rogers

Recipients of cash from the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) (1988-2016) who refuse to pass gun control laws that would save lives, as reported by The Nation magazine. Call them today!

Congressman: Rep. Hal Rogers, (R-KY)

Total amount received: $41,400
Tel. Number: (202) 225-4601

Trump's tantrums could start World War III

Daisy Girl

It was the "Peace Little Girl" political ad that gave the election to Lyndon Johnson in a landslide against Barry Goldwater, indicating that Goldwater could not be trusted with his finger on the switch that would unleash "the bomb." The idea was that the Arizona Senator's temperament was not stable enough for the presidency. Did you people who voted for Donald Trump even give this a thought? God knows, he's shown several signs of instability during the election.

Even after winning the Electoral College vote, Trump is steaming excessively over the fact that Hillary Clinton is ahead in the popular vote by over 2.3 million. He even says he would win the popular vote if they deducted the millions of illegal votes; which no one in his campaign can confirm. But that still didn't keep him from going...

"...a little berserk, publishing a series of bizarre tweets pushing back against accurate reporting the president-elect found inconvenient.

This. Is. Not. Normal."

The above, an observation from Steve Benen on MSNBC, who continues with his concern that Donald Trump has yet to mature for the presidency, with his inauguration fast approaching. Benen adds:

"If the pressures of the transition are causing Trump to flip out in response to accurate reporting, I shudder to think how unhinged he’ll be once he bears the burdens of an actual president."

Barry Goldwater would be aghast at the thought of Donald Trump as the next President of the U.S., wondering if his beloved Republican Party had gone mad. In 2016 Hillary used Monique Luiz, who did the original "Daisy Girl" ad and now living in Arizona at age 52, in a version of the original. It pointed out the same possibilities but apparently with no results. I can hardly wait until No. Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, pisses off Trump.

Trump's transition team worse than even imagined

Rudy Giulini in anticipation

"Trump's transition team read like a who's who of some of the worst political villains of the last 40 years." This from The Nation that's been trying to make sense of an election that doesn't make sense. Here's the lineup:

• Kris Kobach, acclaimed vote suppressor and co-author of Arizona's 1070 ant-immigrant law
• Congressman Lou Barletta, best known for effectively criminalizing immigrants as Mayor of Hazleton, PA
• Florida Atty. General Pam Bondi, who sacked career prosecutors working to indict attackers for fraud and accepted an illegal $25,000 from Trump Foundation at the time at the time she decided to stop an investigation of Trump University 
• Ken Blackwell, as Ohio sec. of state prevented enough Democratic voters from casting ballots in 2004, to hand the state to GWB

These words are taken directly from the The Nation, and this is but a few of the many scoundrels they bring to task that make up Trump's transition team. When you consider these very scary individuals will assist in ushering in the new administration of Donald Trump, it is easy to see how Progressive publications like The Nation would be concerned, even alarmed. It would appear that Trump has gone out of his way to gather political outlaws around him.

Candidates for and those already selected for Trump's cabinet are another horror story entirely. People like Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, John Bolton, Sarah Palin, Rick Scott, the infamous former Arizona Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, Stephen Hadley and Ben Carson. In each of these individuals' cases, there is a history of radical conservatism that is not in the best interest of this country. Collectively, you have political Armageddon.

In The Nation's words, "This isn't just the swamp, it's the muck dredged up from the bottom." Donald Trump can execute his promise to clean up the "Washington swamp" by starting in his own backyard.

Congressional members with NRA blood on their hands

Rep. Robt. Aderholt

Recipients of cash from the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) (1988-2016) who refuse to pass gun control laws that would save lives, as reported by The Nation magazine. Call them today!

Congressman: Rep. Robert Aderhold, (R-AL)                      Total amount received: $43,749                                             Tel. Number: (202) 225-4876

Which side of the nation are you on?

A nation divided

The results of the 2016 election have spawned a huge game of 'Who do you like?' In the cases of the high-profile politicians, nobody's winning, except Barack Obama. In a recent CNN/ORC poll the results were dismal for at least three:

For all Americans 

• Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House, 47% favorable, 35% Unfavorable
• Hillary Clinton, 40% Favorable, 57% Unfavorable
• Mitch McConnell, Sen.Majority Leader, 25% Favorable, 39% Unfavorable

Real Clear Politics rates Donald Trump currently, 39.5% Favorable, 56% Unfavorable. All of this is out in left field compared to Barack Obama's rating following his 2008 election, 70% Favorable, 25% Unfavorable. His current, Favorable 56%, Unfavorable 40%. In another Republican comparison, when George W. Bush left office, his Favorable was 27%, Unfavorable 66%. The key is the Dems needed someone like Obama in 2016...think Bernie Sanders.

We just experienced the most obnoxious election in recent history, perhaps ever.

"...more than 8-in-10 Americans say the country is more deeply divided on major issues this year than in the past several years."

"And more than half say they are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in the US."

But here's hope for Progressives, "...nearly 8-in-10 overall hope to see the GOP-controlled government incorporate some Democratic policies into its agenda." CNN interprets the poll saying

"...'most' say they would like to see President-elect Donald Trump, who won with an Electoral College majority despite trailing in the popular vote nationwide, pursue policies that could draw in new supporters rather than appeal solely to those who backed him during the campaign."

Not sure who CNN's "most" is, but I do not see Progressives wanting new supporters in any Republican form, certainly not the Donald Trump ilk. But the feelings are unanimous that we are a split nation, "...with 85% saying so overall, including 86% of independents, 85% of Republicans and 84% of Democrats." And even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, the general public still feels ill about her following the election.

As Progressives, we can only hope that Trump will do the right thing. If not, there is 2008. Unfortunately, thanks to Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrats/Progressives have been saying that too much in the last few years.