Politics & Prose: David Frum- ‘Trumpocracy’

Source:Politic & Prose– David Frum talking about his book.

Source:The New Democrat 

“David Frum, former White House speech writer and senior editor at The Atlantic, discusses his book, “Trumpocracy”, at Politics and Prose on 2/7/18.

Frum’s ninth book expands on his eye-opening March 2017 Atlantic column, “How to Build an Autocracy,” which argued that Trump is leading the nation into authoritarianism. An experienced Washington insider and one of the country’s leading conservative commentators, Frum examines the implications of Trump’s behavior as well as his policies. From Trump’s admiration for strongmen such as the Philippines’ Roderigo Duterte and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdoğan to the president’s threats against the media, his impulsive decision-making, and flouting of tradition and even law, Frum sees evidence that Trump’s presidency, if left unchecked, will seriously damage America’s democratic future.”

From Politics & Prose

David Frum’s Trumpocracy argues that thanks to President Donald Trump and perhaps other people and other things our liberal democracy and liberal democratic form of government is at risk. That Donald Trump represents a right-wing nationalist populist movement that puts their political and cultural values over everyone else and everything else, including the U.S. Constitution.

The one clue that you need to know about the Trump Nationalist Tea Party populist movement is not conservative, is that they’re not traditionalists. They don’t believe in conserving the status quo. They want to blow up the system and the Washington way of doing things and replace that system with their own political system which wouldn’t be democratic.

Just as political and current affairs junkie, I hate it when political commentators and reporters, call people Conservatives when they’re not conservative. The tax bill and budget that the Republican Congress passed in the last two months that will add trillions of dollars to the national debt and as a result we’re looking at a deficit of over a trillion-dollars next year which would be our first trillion-dollar deficit since 2012.

Conservatives don’t borrow and spend and they don’t blow up tradition and the status quo. They protect and conserve the system that they’re part of because it works and they helped design it. Donald Trump represents an anti-conservative movement that is nationalist, tribalist, and authoritarian, that believes their movement are the real Americans and everyone else are Un-American.

Donald Trump by himself I don’t believe is as scary as people want to believe. As much as a wannabe nationalist dictator that he wants to be the problem is he operates in a system with checks and balances and still is part of a liberal democratic form of government and there real limits to what he can do by himself and he like no other President in American history is above the law. If he’s guilty of anything illegal or impeachable, we’ll know about it and Congress will have an opportunity to act on that.

What people should really worry about are the people and voters that Donald Trump represents and the prospects for those people coming to power in America. Not just at the Federal level but the state and local levels which is more important, since a lot of members of Congress come from state and local government. And establish regimes that pass laws that make it close to impossible for members of the opposition to even vote. That is what we should worry about as people who believe in checks and balances and liberal democracy.

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Politics and Prose: David Cay Johnston- ‘It’s Even Worse Than You Think’

Source:Politics & Prose– author David Cay Johnston at Politics & Prose in Washington.

Source:The New Democrat

“David Cay Johnston discusses his book, “It’s Even Worse Than You Think” at Politics and Prose on 1/24/18.

Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, has been covering Trump since 1988. In June 2015, he was the first national journalist to write about a possible Trump presidency and in his 2016 bestselling The Making of Donald Trump he gave a comprehensive account of Trump’s business practices, associates, and family background. Now Johnston follows up that profile with a detailed analysis of the Trump administration’s first one hundred days. He shows how Trump’s policies are affecting ordinary people’s jobs, finances, and security, explains the federal agencies charged with carrying out Trump’s executive actions, and illuminates places where the system can hide what’s really going on.”

From Politics & Prose

I agree with David C. Johnston that Donald Trump is not the disease in American politics, but a symptom. His presidency is an example of what can happen when Americans are literally so pissed off about American politics, American politicians, the lobbyists that they actually represent instead of the everyday American voters who work very hard for their living and proud of that.

Not just Independents but Democrats voted for Donald Trump. Far-Left-Wing Democrats and third-party voters who voted for Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries for President, voted for Nationalist Republican Donald Trump for President. Who came out in favor of banning Muslims from entering America and a huge border wall that is supposed to be about two-thousand miles along and cover the entire American-Mexican border, even though no one actually believes that is even possible to accomplish let alone will ever happen, except for Donald Trump’s Far-Right Breitbart Fox News voters. Even Donald Trump knows enough about immigration to know his wall won’t ever happen, but he’s also smart enough to know that his base doesn’t know that.

Think about that for a second: Socialists voting for a right-wing Nationalist for President, even though they had Green Party Socialist candidate Jill Stein, as an option to vote for President.

Donald Trump for all of his weaknesses and lack of knowledge about everything other than how to make money for himself and entertainment, understands the American political system very well. Not the governmental system where he’s not even a student of American government at this point, but instead barely knows it exist and sees the U.S. Justice Department and White House Legal Counsel Office, as his personal law firms that are supposed to be in the business to only represent him.

But Trump is smart enough about American politics to know where American voters are at least on the right-wing side of it and not the Center-Right of the Republican Party, but the hardcore Right if not Far-Right. And he knows what he can do and has to do to get those voters to vote for him and support him.

Trump also knows that there is this so-called Reagan Democrat wing in the Democratic Party who generally vote for Democrats for President and who voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama for President twice, but that these voters haven’t been part of the economic recovery that we’ve been living though since 2009. And hate our American political system and the politicians that get elected for obvious reasons. And that Donald Trump completely represents the anti-political as well as government establishment in America.

Donald Trump represents what can happen when you have a Congress with a 15% approval rating, where you have a large percentage of middle class workers who haven’t gotten a raise in twenty years, where corruption in politics and government looks like the norm instead of a surprise. And for the Far-Right in America Trump represents what can happen when you have an America that looks like America which is the world ethnically and racially, instead of just looking like Europe.

All Donald Trump did in 2015-16 was to be smart enough to understand these things and be smart enough to take advantage of them. You want to get the Donald Trump’s of the world out of the American political system and more importantly out of the American government, you need better government and better people working in government especially at the top. And even more importantly you need better and smarter voters who vote for good people to represent them. Even if they tell them things and take positions that they don’t want to see and hear from time to time.

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Forrest Palmer: George Wallace 1968 Presidential Campaign- Precursor To Donald Trump

Source: Forrest Palmer

Source: This piece was originally posted at The New Democrat

When I watched and listened to Donald Trump’s 2016 GOP Convention nomination speech, I thought about George C. Wallace and his 1968 presidential campaign. The theme that it’s other people’s fault for why certain Americans mainly blue-collar Caucasian-Americans and men especially are struggling in America. Donald Trump’s point was mostly about immigration and to a certain extent Islam’s fault for why his Caucasian blue-collar male base was struggling.

In the 1960s there was this sense among Southern Caucasians especially English-Protestants and blue-collar workers in this community there and in even in rural parts of the Midwest, that they were losing their America. Because of multiculturalism, ethnic and racial minorities now staking their claim in America and not just defending their constitutional rights but using their to express themselves and be able to obtain their American dream without being denied their rights simply because of their race, ethnicity, or gender. Governor George Wallace spoke to this community in Alabama in the 1960s and then later the broader South when he ran for President in 1968. Speaking out against integration and other issues.

George Wallace became the spokesperson for the segregationists and Neo-Confederates in Alabama and the broader South in the 1960s. The Dixiecrats in the Democratic Party that basically ran that party in Congress and the broader Democratic Party in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Wallace became the Strom Thurmond of the 1960s and became the candidate for blue-collar English-Protestants in America who believed their America was disappearing with all sorts not just non-European-Americans, but non-Anglo-Saxons becoming prominent in America. Italian-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Irish-Catholics, Latinos, and other Americans. Along with African-Americans of course who gave us the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

I don’t believe Donald Trump personally designed his presidential campaign around George Wallace’s 1968 presidential campaign. Just because The Donald is not even a student of history let alone an amateur historian. He seems to have no interest in history whatsoever. But George Wallace was still alive and functioning in 2016 and he would’ve been 97 at that point, I believe he would’ve been proud of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. And then say that he was the first to run a campaign like this and perhaps claim that Big Don learned from him. The two presidential campaigns are more than strikingly similar.

Forrest Palmer: George Wallace 1968 Presidential Campaign- Precursor To Donald Trump

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Politics and Prose: Jonathan Martin Interviewing Denis Leary- ‘Why We Don’t Suck’

Source: Politics and Prose

Source: This piece was originally posted at The Daily Review

I haven’t read Denis Leary’s book so I can’t get you any real analysis of it whatsoever. But I was alive, conscience, and in America, for the entire time in 2016. Except when I wasn’t sleeping, which is any longer than the average American sleeps. And I can tell you about Suck Bowl 2016 (which is what I call the Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton presidential election) and why it was the worst presidential election we’ve ever seen.

I voted for Hillary Clinton for president and would do again million straight times, if her opponent is Donald Trump or anyone else who is as unqualified to even be a back benching member of the House of Representatives, let alone President of the United States. Ot is as immature, thin skinned, unread, lacking in intelligence, knowledge, and curiosity about how the U.S. Government works, narcissistic, dishonest, as a Donald Trump or anyone else with those same characteristics. That are the only reasons why I voted for her.

Not because I’m a fan of Hillary Clinton. I basically see her as a well-meaning intelligent person, who wants to do a good job. And if it wasn’t for this Thanksgiving grocery shopping list of reasons why I don’t like her, I could vote for her because I believe in her and believe she would do a great job. We’re talking about a major presidential nominee who has been thinking about being President of the United States, at least since she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2001, and yet didn’t seem to have any vision of why she should be President and what her campaign was about. Other than that she’s a well-educated, rich yuppie New Yorker, who is also a feminist and a Democrat. Which is why the rich cool people should vote for her. And that she’s also a woman and would be the worst female President of the United States. Well, most of the rich cool people did vote for Hillary and she still lost states that no Democrat has lost since 1988. Pennsylvania and Michigan.

So you have the baggage of Hillary Clinton. Well some of the baggage. How about her lack of candor and genuineness and ability to make a statement that doesn’t sound like it was poll tested or that some who works for her told her to say. Which killed her in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, probably Florida as well, states where she was heavily favored going in. What those voters saw in Donald Trump was at least someone who seems to say what he thinks, at least at the time. Even if he changes his position five minutes later after hearing what Breitbart or some other Far-Right publication or organization thinks about it. But Trump came off as real and says what’s on his mind. Instead of someone who seems to say whatever the polls are telling him are popular at the time.

This is why I call the 2016 presidential election Suck Bowl 2016. Perhaps the the two worst presidential candidates you could imagine running against each other. One, who might be a good public servant, but who is a horrible politician at least in the sense that she lacks any ability to communicate a vision for the country and what her presidency would be like and why people should vote for her. Against a natural politician at least in the sense of someone who can bring voters behind him and be able to speak to them. But who is a horrible public servant simply because he doesn’t believe in public service. His idea of service is serving himself. And some people are still wondering why Americans at least say they hate American politics and don’t like American politicians.

Politics and Prose: Jonathan Martin Interviewing Denis Leary- “Why We Don’t Suck”

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The Daily Conversation: Bernie vs Hillary On The Issues

Bernie Sanders vs Hillary Clinton

Source: This piece was originally posted at The Daily Review

The differences between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton? Well which Hillary Clinton are you talking about. 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, hopefully not as Secretary of State. Don’t want 2016 to be about Libya for her, assuming she is the Democratic nominee for president. I actually like the 2015-16 Hillary quite a bit. She’s even now in favor of legalizing marijuana at least at the state level. Has publicly admitted that the Iraq War was a mistake, even if she privately knew that in 2006.

The 2015-16 Hillary looks like the Pragmatic Progressive. But I still prefer the Progressive With Results from Martin O’Malley. And if he can ever get a non-relative to endorse him for president and give his campaign money, he might still make a run for the Democratic nomination. Because he’s already accomplished as Governor of Maryland what Bernie and Hillary say they want to do, but have never actually accomplished anything.

With Bernie Sanders, like him, dislike him, hate him, love him, terrified of him and would never want to let him see your wallet and financial information for fear that all of your money would suddenly disappear after Uncle Sam takes what he wants from you, you have to at least respect him. Because here’s a real-life politician not a made up Hollywood politician, but a real-life human being and politician at the same time, (which might be a newsflash for a lot of Americans) who actually knows what he believes and says what he thinks. For the most part.

I mean free college, free health care, free health insurance, I think he’s at least smart enough to know that people will have to pay for all of their new government services and that of course they won’t be free. These will not be Christmas presents from their rich Uncle Bernie. But their Socialist Uncle Sam, or Bernie, who’ll have new taxes to pay for these services. Two guarantees in life, death and taxes, at least in America. And taxes are bills that Americans have to pay to get the free government services. Free government services is like trying to take a bath with dirt and playing football in the bathtub. It simply doesn’t exist for anyone whose a taxpayer.

Hillary Clinton vs Bernie Sanders, to me at least looks like Bill Clinton vs George McGovern, or Jerry Brown, from back in Jerry’s hippie radical days in the 1960s and early 70s. Hard to imagine that once Bernie after he finally picks a number by how much he wants to expand the Federal Government in size and in money, assuming that ever happens, that he could beat Hillary anywhere outside of New England and San Francisco. And perhaps just Vermont and San Francisco. Too bad for Bernie that New York City is not a state, because maybe he could beat Hillary there.

Because Americans and even Democrats, are learning that to create all the new big government that Senator Sanders wants to create, the rich won’t pay for all of that. Their money will be in other countries even before some committee in Congress like Ways and Means, or Finance, looks at his proposals. So of course the middle class Americans will get stuck with the tax bills for all of these new programs. Hillary, is already scoring against Bernie in the debates on this. About whose going to pay to being Sweden to America. Hillary can say, “I have friends in Congress both in the Senate and House who I’ve worked with on these issues in both parties. And we can work together on these issues.” With Bernie it will an all or nothing approach that will die in Congress faster than a constitutional amendment to repeal both the first and second amendments.
The Daily Conversation: Bernie Sanders vs Hillary Clinton on The Issues

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The McLaughlin Group: Video: Martin O’Malley vs. Hillary Clinton

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This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

As far as Martin O’Malley beating Hillary Clinton next year, no one is expecting him to do that. But plenty of upsets have happened inside of the Democratic Party during presidential years in the past. And all the Democratic nominees coming out of nowhere were all serious intelligent candidates, who were successful in their current and previous jobs. Who were great politicians and communicators, who very likable and spoke very well to the Democratic base. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. All current or former President’s of the United States. Martin O’Malley is just as good as a politician as Jimmy Carter at least and perhaps Barack Obama.

As far as the NCAA. Why should just student athletes not be able to earn money while at college either though their field or outside of their field? Why should athletes suffer, while law students, medical students and everyone else are not only allowed to work their way through college, but earn money while at college. And a lot of these athletes come from lower-middle class to low-income families. Where their parents can’t afford to pay for their cost of living and send them money while they’re at college. They don’t have to worry about their schooling, but they have to be able to pay their other bills while their at school.

As far as Carly Fiorina, she is less accomplished than Mitt Romney as a politician. Which is sort of the death knell for a potential serious presidential candidate. Had she defeated Senator Barbara Boxer in 2010, then maybe she would be a serious candidate right now. Because she could say that she’s one statewide in one of the bluest states in the country. And now has foreign policy experience on the Foreign Relations Committee or Armed Services Committee. She has business experience and was a successful business executive and everything else. But that didn’t happen and now she looks like someone who is just trying to get any big job and get her name in the public eye.

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The Daily Beast: Opinion: Jonathan Miller: For 2016, Take Martin O’Malley Seriously: A Liberal Democrat With Results

Governor Martin O’Malley

The Daily Beast: Opinion: Jonathan Miller: For 2016, Take Martin O’Malley Seriously

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on Blogger

It is way too early right now to be talking about 2016 for president especially since we are still three months away from the 2014 mid-term elections that will decide who controls Congress next year, or will Congress be divided again and who will control the majority of state governorships and state legislatures. But I wouldn’t be much of a political junky if I didn’t look ahead to elections down the road. And this is one thing that makes politics so interesting is that politicians and potential politicians do the same thing which gives of good stuff to write about.

I’m a native Marylander or Free Stater for those of you not familiar with Maryland, as well as a Democrat who voted twice for Martin O’Malley for Governor of Maryland. And I’m as proud of those two votes as any votes that I’ve ever cast. For several reasons, but here’s a few. He’s a hell of a great Governor who governs one of it not the wealthiest states in the union as far as quality of life, per-capita income and wealth. So of course he has a lot going for him as well as location being in the Mid-Atlantic. But it still takes a good leader to make those things work, or the state can lose ground to other great states in the region like New Jersey or Virginia.

We have the best public schools in the nation and those rankings came during his administration. Maryland doesn’t invest heavily in education, but we invest well and get solid results. During the Great Recession we always had an unemployment rate below the national average and never had serious debt or deficit issues unlike most of the rest of the country. If you want to look at the economy and freedom issues. Again with the great schools not just K-12 but we have a great state college system with Maryland University and others. We have great roads and other infrastructure as well.

The taxes both personal and on business are a little high compared with our competitors in the area. And I would like to see them come down especially since we now have legalized gambling and will probably legalize marijuana in the near future as well. But for the taxes we pay in this state and again a bit high the results that we get in return are pretty good. We are gaining business’s and tourists everyday. Maryland is a state where you have good skiing in the winter, good beaches in the summer on the Atlantic. Where you can gamble, smoke and posses marijuana without going to jail for it. Where gays can get married and where you are never more than two hours away from doing anything.

I believe the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries will not just be about a mushy-middle Centrist who’s afraid to take any solid positions on anything controversial in Hillary Clinton. Or a New Deal Progressive who will take the strongest positions possible perhaps even just to get to the Left of Hillary. I believe there is room for at least one more person who can run and say “I share the same Democratic and liberal values as you do. And I have a record of producing solid results. I’m not from Washington (even though I live next door to it) and I know how to govern”. Who will still be fairly young in 2016 who can appeal to other gen-xers and Millennial’s and that person could be Martin O’Malley.

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