Get Involved

I am totally amazed at how much raw anger and emotion is still out there over the election. I've certainly done my share of hand wringing. Our two political parties failed to stop the hostile take-over of America's political system so we now have two failed political parties, and a rogue in the White House. Taking down the rogue is above my pay scale. I have every confidence people much smarter than me are at work on that task at this very moment. Everything takes time. He's not even been sworn into office.

I do believe I can perhaps help in restoring and reforming one of the political parties. That is where I plan to focus my attention. I encourage you to read Five Reasons For Liberals to Have Hope.

Next I encourage you to read Obama Tells His Supporters, Stop Moping; Says he'll Return to Community Organizing.

That's a start. Now, if you're looking at Huffington Post, stop. Overnight they became the liberals' FOX. Disgusting.

I've seen messages encouraging people to buy a subscription to The New York Times as a way to support them in standing against Donald Trump. He is out for the NYT with a vengeance that is likely to get worse. I subscribe from time to time so maybe it's time for me to do that again. I only subscribe to the digital which is quite reasonable.

I am also going to subscribe again to the digital Washington Post.

Apathy is always my biggest fear for Democrats. I'm pleased to see Democrats passionate once again. We absolutely must not 'normalize' this election. There's good anger and there's bad anger. Righteous anger is what we need to keep alive.

Remember it is not our job or our place to tell Republicans how to run their party. We have enough to keep us busy dealing with Democrats that are prone to napping.

I have more to say.

Here We Go Again

Republicans are sure Hillary is guilty of a crime. They just don't know what crime.

She isn't even in office and they're already talking about all the investigations they have planned and blocking all her Supreme Court appointments. Does this sound like a party putting country first? More to the point, concerned about correcting the problems within their own party?

Do you think Republicans have noticed their party is in tatters? They've been after the Clintons since 1992. They devoted all their attention to investigating Clintons and no attention to the well being of their party. In attempting to destroy the Clintons they destroyed their party by neglect.

Can you be impeached for acts committed in a job you previously held? If so, can the Bush administration still be investigated and impeached?

I rolled my eyes when I learned the latest email debacle did not involve Hillary but rather her aide who's married to Anthony Weiner. That is so like the Clintons. If there's sleaze anywhere around they can be counted on to be close enough to cause talk that stokes the Republican flames of suspicion. I miss the Obamas already.

Cleaning My Own House

Daughter is flying in tomorrow to visit until Wednesday. Bob and I are excited she is coming.

Lest you think I talk only about the GOP I thought it appropriate to point out some areas in the Democratic party that could soon be troublesome.  Hopefully by the time daughter leaves and I'm back to blogging, I'll be able to move on from politics and get a life.

1) Democrats do not have high voter turn out in mid-term elections. They tend to turn out for Presidential elections and then go away for four years. This is a big problem. If this happens in 2018 as it did in 2010 and before that in 1994 we will be in very big trouble.  1994 brought us Newt Gingrich, 2010 brought us the Tea Party.

I'm not sure the reason for this but I suspect it may have something to do with the high minority vote in the Democratic party. Perhaps minorities have not been properly educated on the importance of mid-term elections. Heck, whites apparently haven't been educated either. Whatever the reason, Republicans do a good job getting their voters out every two years. Democrats desperately need to work on this issue and do it soon.

2) I am very concerned about 2020 for Democrats. We simply must not run Hillary again. She has high negatives now but she'll have ever higher negatives by 2020. She has perhaps lucked out this time by running against Donald Trump but we must not take that chance in 2020. Who do you see waiting in the wings who might be ready by 2020?  That concerns me a lot. Shame on Democrats for not doing a better job grooming future candidates.

3) I was very pleased to see the top layer of the DNC resign. Republicans might have fared better if that had happened to the RNC a few years prior to this election. I see this as a plus, a time for Democrats to get their act together by 2020 with new people and hopefully new ideas.

4) The Bernies may not go away. Time will tell but it looks to me like they're about the business of changing the Democratic party and this election will not be forgotten. I spent some time researching this issue today. Remember when the Republican Party thought that little bunch of noise makers called the Tea Party was no cause for concern?  Think about the same for Democrats and Bernies.

It has been my experience that all fundamentalism, right as well as left, all comes from the same root. One is no more destructive than the other. Democrats need to heads up and not ignore the Bernies.

Finally, my question is this, if the Republicans continue to move to the right and Democrats continue to move to the left how will we ever have a government that functions?

Listen Up Democrats

Do you enjoy a good schlacking?

Ever wonder why we have a Democrat in the White House and a Republican Congress?

When Democrats think about government they think federal level and national elections. They tend to vote every four years and consider their job done. Got a Democrat in the White House what more do you want?

When Republicans think about government they think of state level and mid-term elections. Republicans know the importance of voting every two years. Mid-term elections are important in the House and Senate.

So far Republicans have been unable to get an extreme conservative elected to the White House (we'll see what they do this time). As a whole the country is not that conservative.

They can however fill the House and Senate with extreme conservatives because they are elected from districts at the state level.

If you want to stop the gridlock we have in Congress tell all the Democrats you know, starting now, the importance of voting every two years.

President Clinton received a schlacking in 1994, and President Obama in 2010. Prepare for the same in 2018 if Hillary Clinton is in the White House and Democrats fail to change their ways.