GOP Rumble In The Rockies

English: Official portrait of US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The ten remaining Republican presidential candidates considered ready for prime time by CNBC debated for two hours Wednesday at the University of Colorado in Boulder.  This is the time limit demanded by Donald Trump and Ben Carson if the business-oriented cable channel (best known for reruns of "Shark Tank") wanted to be graced by their presence.

In those two hours, it wasn't the front-runners who shined.  It was Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who made the most of his single-digit poll position in sounding more Presidential than the other candidates when it came to, for example, defending himself against former Governor Jeb Bush's contention that the Senator did a great job in avoiding his duties.  Rubio replied that Bush was only saying that because they're both running for the same office.

Bush wasn't the only one on stage who looked and sounded desperate, which is obvious given his poll numbers.  While Trump was his usual animated self, Carson's calm demeanor was slightly above cadaver status (or as Trump would put it:  "low energy"), Carly Fiorina came across as a 19th century schoolmarm, Ted Cruz did his usual blustering, and John Kasich, Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee did their best to be heard.

Otherwise, it was just another GOP food fight where nobody wanted to discuss the issues facing the country they claimed they wanted to discuss.  Instead, they'd rather bash the media, Hillary Clinton and each other, in no particular order.  There were even references to Colorado's legalizing marijuana and to fantasy football.  Reforming Social Security and Obamacare did get some airplay, though.

CNN reports that the Republicans and the candidates complained about the tone of the questions coming from CNBC's moderators and reporters.   Carl Quintanilla and Rebecca Quick did well in their roles, so long as they stuck to questions about business and the economy.  But whose idea was it to include, among others, Jim Cramer?  The guy who hosts "Mad Money"?  Wasn't Kevin O'Leary available?

It's a long road to the Republican presidential nomination.  We also know that there are plenty of peaks and valleys in Colorado, just as there are in politics.  Whoever survives to claim the summit will get there on the basis of how much support he or she gets, and how high the mountain of campaign money accumulates.  Unless your name is Donald Trump, who doesn't seem to need either.

Too Much and Too Late for Biden

Official portrait of Vice President of the United States . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The race for the White House in 2016 has taken one wacky turn after another.  For the Republicans, the field is currently led by two men with no previous political experience, except maybe for funding other campaigns instead of their own.  It is still thought that one of the more experienced (and more conservative) candidates can rise above the rest of the field and take control.  That's not happening so far, even with the primaries a few months away.

For the Democrats, it's been Hillary Rodham Clinton from the very beginning.  Despite her well-known distractions, she holds a commanding lead over admitted 'democratic socialist' Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the polls, with one debate behind them.

So where does that leave Vice President Joe Biden, who many expected to enter the race just to give the former Secretary of State at least one roadblock to the Democratic nomination?  On the outside looking in, having announced on Wednesday that he's not running for the job currently held by his boss, President Barack Obama.

For the Vice President, it was a matter of too much and too late.  Too much to overcome the grief of losing son Beau to cancer last spring.  Too much of a head start by Clinton in terms of support, fund raising and rising poll numbers--even with Biden in the race.  Too much wasted time in making a decision to run before finally revealing his choice in late October.  Which turned out to be too late to mount a successful campaign, a fact even Biden realized.

All things considered, this is the most sensible decision the Vice President could make.  His legacy won't be tarnished in the campaign, and neither will President Obama's.  Both could wait to see how the primaries turn out before officially giving their blessing to Clinton or anyone else.  And they would be in a position to help unite the Democrats for the general election, even if it means needling the front-runner when necessary.

Vice President Joe Biden has had a long and successful career as a national political figure, whether serving as U.S. Senator from Delaware, two runs as a presidential candidate (1988 and 2008), and in his current position.  The one thing he wanted most of all, at the age of 72, was to be President of the United States.  Biden must have realized that, in his words, the window was closing.  But it's not too late for him to make a difference in the campaign.  At least he hopes not.

Democratic Roulette in Vegas

English: Las Vegas Strip (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Democrats held the first of six scheduled debates Tuesday night, which was held at a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.  Fifteen million viewers watched the proceedings on CNN, which is a record for the Dems, but was ten million short of the first debate the Republicans had two months ago.  Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State who is the presumptive front-runner, held the winning hand.  But some people are wondering if she's benefiting from a stacked deck.

Clinton looked poised and confident compared to the other four debaters (Bernie Sanders, Lincoln Chaffee, Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb), deflecting moderator Anderson Cooper's questions about Benghazi, her use of e-mails, and whether she's too much of an insider to truly 'get' voters' concerns.  Clinton did say, however, that the 2002 vote she took as a U.S. Senator to authorize the use of force that resulted in the Iraq War was a mistake.

Sanders, an independent Senator from Vermont, stuck mostly to his Corporations Are Evil and Tax The Rich messages which have won him a surprising amount of supporters, but not enough to seriously challenge Clinton in the polls outside New Hampshire.  The one thing that tripped up Sanders was his support of gun ownership laws (backed by the NRA, no less) that run counter to all the news about mass shootings.  Sanders is still the rabble-rousing senator who can rant all he wants about the unfairness of the American economy on average citizens, and who also doesn't mind being labeled a 'democratic socialist' so long as he gets his message out.  We like him for that, but he's just not presidential material.

Chaffee, O'Malley and Webb?  Well, they gambled on anyone remembering their names after the debate.  And they lost.

Unlike the first two Republican debates, the Democrats were in no mood for taking potshots at each other (unless it's about Donald Trump), demeaning women and minorities, or ignoring issues such as climate change and race relations.  Just a serious, substantial discussion that left nearly everyone wanting more, even though the debate ran for more than two hours.

As we said before, the Democrats are planning on holding five more debates before the primaries.  You might say it's because they have fewer candidates running than the GOP does.  Others think it's by design, as a way to get Hillary Clinton to the nomination with the least amount of effort, limiting the number of candidates and scheduling debates for nights when the main competition on TV is an NFL game.  Unless Vice President Joe Biden wants to get involved, having five more joint appearances between Clinton and Sanders sounds about right.

Now that the Democrats are leaving Las Vegas and preparing for an apparent coronation of Hillary Clinton as its standard bearer, they'll be faced with the biggest gamble of all:  Trying to sell voters on not only the first woman president in American history, but also a third term of the Clinton family in the White House.

Stuff That Didn't Have to Happen

Jeb Bush (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Following the latest mass gun shooting at an Oregon community college, in which ten people were killed, Republican presidential candidate Jeb! Bush's response to it was "Look, stuff happens".

He's right about that, you know.  Stuff does happen . . .

When people disagree on the mindset of the one who did the shooting, especially when he either kills himself or is declared legally incompetent to stand trial.  Is he lonely?  On drugs?  Depressed? Lost his job?  Influenced by Islamic State?  An "Islamophobe"?  Mad at the government?  Or is he just mentally ill?

When the sign says, "Guns Are Banned On These Premises".  Do criminals read?

When current gun laws aren't all that effective, or are routinely ignored.

When the National Rifle Association and others help write laws that criminalize the possession of firearms, or prohibit research into whether gun deaths should be considered a health hazard.

When we're told we need guns because of (A) a possible foreign invasion, (B) President Barack Obama or his successors declare themselves emperors and suspend the Constitution, or (C) because the other guy has one.

When certain police officers think it's a good idea to enforce their version of the law on African-Americans and other minorities.

When parents don't keep weapons out of the hands of their kids, just like they should do with hazardous chemicals or prescription drugs.

When school students are now treated like prison inmates in the name of "safety", because of other kids who shot up schools.

When you fail to contain a terrorist organization through bombing raids and drone strikes, leaving them free to recruit new members through the Internet.

When the rationale for maintaining your Second Amendment rights is that hundreds of thousands of victims of gun violence over a 15-year period barely compares to the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which three thousand people died in one day.

Yes, stuff happens, all right.  But it doesn't have to be that way, if the will is there.

The Speaker Has Left The House

Official portrait of United States House Speaker (R-Ohio). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pope Francis is in the United States right now, in case you haven't noticed.  So far he's visited Washington and spoke to a joint session of Congress.  As this is being published, His Holiness is in New York City, having addressed the United Nations and holding Mass at Madison Square Garden.  Then he's off to Philadelphia for a family conference before going home.

No doubt the Pope's visit has influenced the many lives of those who have come from far and wide just to get a glimpse of him.  This includes John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives and third in line for presidential succession.  The day after the Pope made his historic address inside the House chamber, Boehner rocked the political world by announcing his resignation as Speaker and as a member of Congress, effective at the end of October.

The Ohio Republican--he of the perpetual tan and a noted tendency to cry a lot--has served in Congress since 1991, and has been Speaker since after the GOP took control of the House in the 2010 elections.  Boehner said in a news conference that he made his decision after meeting with Pope Francis following his address, then prayed on it.  He said he had planned to resign at the end of the year, but events forced him to move up the timetable.

Boehner, a conservative who as Speaker has had numerous run-ins with President Barack Obama and other "my way or the highway" Republicans over his fiscal policy and his leadership--to the point of shutting down the U.S. government, apparently reached his limit when some of the more conservative members of his party tried to shut down the government again over funding for Planned Parenthood.  They wanted Boehner to take a harder line on the issue, but he said he just couldn't go through with that again.

The GOP is in complete disarray right now.  The Tea Party faction is willing to stop the U.S. government from doing its job for idiotic reasons, disrupting the lives of those who work for them or otherwise depend on it to function.  They're so far right that Dwight Eisenhower, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan would be considered Democrats today.  So who are the leading candidates in the GOP presidential race?  Donald Trump. Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson.  Businesspeople who have never held political office before.  That's how screwed up the Republicans are, and why few of them are sad to see Boehner go.

Kevin McCarthy, a California congressman and House Majority Leader who also happens to be Boehner's deputy, is considered the early favorite to be the next Speaker. 

Now that John Boehner is putting Congress in the rear view mirror, it'll be interesting to see if anything changes in Washington before and after the 2016 elections.  As it stands right now, it's going to take more than just a visit from Pope Francis to get those from the far left and right to come together for the good of the country.

It's going to take a miracle.

Three Hours in Simi Valley

English: Carly Fiorina Português: A empresária Carly Fiorina em São Paulo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The second Republican presidential debate, held this time at the Ronald Reagan Library in California, was three hours of watching 11 White House wannabees struggling to explain to a CNN audience why they would want to follow in The Gipper's footsteps.  They all stood in front of the Air Force One that Reagan used during his term in office, making it look like this was taking place in an airplane hangar.

Donald Trump, who has been the GOP front-runner for the last few weeks, continued to mug for the cameras and make brash statements.  That's a given.  What's different this time was that the ten other candidates took potshots at Trump and his limitations on such issues as foreign policy and immigration reform, which may have caused him to lay back for long stretches of time.

The other guys--Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, etc.--did their best to attack Trump and to make their own points.  Quite frankly, they had to.  With the exception of Dr. Ben Carson, none of them had poll ratings beyond the single digits.  Only Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, made the most of her promotion from the kids' table at the last debate.  Her icy response to Trump's "that face" reference and what she would do once in office spoke volumes about her candidacy, if you don't count Trump's (mostly true) references to Fiorina's nearly running HP into the ground.

Jeb! Bush tried hard to distance himself from the policies of the previous members of his family who once ran the country.  But mentioning that George W. had "kept us safe" when it was obvious that he did not, admitting to smoking marijuana many years ago, and coaxing Trump to apologize to his wife for including her in the immigration debate was not exactly becoming.  Everyone knows that Trump never apologizes.

In three hours on CNN and Salem Radio (which the network frequently invoked whenever conservative talk host Hugh Hewitt asked a question), moderator Jake Tapper tried to get a word in as the candidates constantly interrupted and talked over each other while discussing re-arming the military and de-funding Planned Parenthood over allegedly doctored videos.  This is what happens when you have eleven people on the same stage telling the world how they would run the country.  It turns into verbal Wrestlemania.

If Reagan were alive to see this, he would have stood there and shook his head, saying "there you go again".  Then he would have taken a nap.  That's more than any of us would have done.

Random Thoughts: 9/11/01 Edition

This is the anniversary of the attacks on New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington, and a field somewhere in Pennsylvania.  Nearly three thousand people died that day.  Now some folks want to make September 11 a national holiday.  The first thing is, didn't we just have a holiday a few days ago?  The second is, isn't this already called Patriot Day?  The third thing?  The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 that forced America into World War II has never been considered a national holiday.  Why should 9/11 be?
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The nuclear deal with Iran, in which they agreed to refrain from anything close to a weapons program for the next ten years in exchange for easing economic sanctions that have been in place at least since American diplomatic personnel were held hostage for 444 days 35 years ago, is more or less a done deal if you believe the White House.  The Obama administration claims to have enough votes in Congress for the deal to pass, despite vehement opposition from the Republicans and guys like former Vice President Dick Cheney and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There are flaws in the agreement, to be sure.  Would Iran hold up its end of the bargain inspecting their own nuclear facilities, and making sure none of the money that comes from lifting sanctions goes into allegedly supporting terrorism?  Or are we reading too much into those TV ads opposing the deal?

We are told that this is the best agreement we're going to get.  It won't end the "Death to America" rhetoric coming out of Tehran, but it's a start.  So unless someone else has a better idea besides going to war with Iran, why would Congress want to look more foolish than they already are in disapproving the deal?
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Syrian refugees fleeing a devastating civil war between a despotic dictatorship and a murderous would-be caliphate are flocking to Europe in droves, particularly to Germany, where they are promised a new life.  (Which is quite a contrast from when everybody wanted to escape Germany and its despotic dictator.)  The U.S. has offered to take in at least 10,000 of those migrants per year, but some say it should be more.  So what are you going to do with all those people who through no fault of their own will probably never return to Syria, whether they want to or not?  And doesn't this make the debate about whether to wall off our borders sound a tad ridiculous?
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The Islamic State has been doing a much better job in recruiting youth to their violence-plagued paradise than anyone could have anticipated, as evidenced by all the arrests made on those who attempted to join them.  Somehow all the bombing being done by the U.S. just isn't cutting it, as apparently what doesn't kill the Islamic State seems to make them stronger.
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It's been 14 years since that September morning, and nobody has figured out an adequate answer to the question Why do they hate us so much?  These days it depends on your definition of who hates whom.  Is it anyone who worships at a mosque?  Is it police officers who stop those who are doing anything while black?  Is it government employees who refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because it's against their religion?  Or is it just because?  If you are able to answer these questions and more, be prepared for the fallout.  Because there is no right answer.