Posted inCitizen involvement City Council National politics

My totally made-up 2024 local and national political awards

It's the last day of 2024. Time to spend a (very) few minutes inspecting the recesses of my brain about what struck me, politically, during the past year, before I turn my attention to a Very Important Question: will CNN be up with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen consuming copious amounts of alcohol at Times Square, or will this be a dry year for the only New Year's Eve hosts I can stand to watch? Here's some 2024 awards. Biggest national fuck-up. Joe Biden ignoring his almost-but-not-quite-explicit pledge to only be a one-term president before turning the 2024 Democratic presidential…
1
Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Jimmy Carter’s death reminds us that presidents should be decent and honest

When I got in my car this afternoon and heard talk about Jimmy Carter after I turned on the radio, I knew, or at least strongly suspected, that former President Carter had died.  My first thought was, "He was such a decent person, the complete opposite of Trump." Listening to reports of Carter's life -- his upbringing, his presidency, his post-presidency -- reminded me  that it wasn't that long ago that decency, honesty, strong moral character, and putting the broad interest of the nation above narrow party politics were viewed as basic qualities someone aspiring to be president needed to…
1
Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Vice-President Trump looks weak compared to President Musk

Donald Trump has gotten a political lump of coal in his Christmas stocking. He loves to pretend that he's a macho guy, even though he actually is a grossly overweight, out of shape, hair-dying, makeup-wearing narcissist who doesn't demonstrate any genuinely manly qualities. Now his weakness is on full display, and he hasn't even taken office yet after narrowly defeating Kamala Harris for the presidency.  It's clear that the genuine leader of the Republican Party isn't Trump, but Elon Musk. That's why Democrats like me are finding great satisfaction in referring to President Musk and Vice-President Trump -- as these…
No Comments
Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Trump, don’t mess with Daylight Savings Time!

Since I was a strong Kamala Harris supporter, it isn't surprising that much of what Trump wants to do in his second term as president worries me. But there are big differences when it comes to my emotional reaction toward Trump's proposals. If he wants to get back to building his border wall, even if Mexico doesn't pay for it, I say, fine, go ahead. If he wants to pardon some or all of the January 6 rioters, a wrong-headed idea, I say, fine, go ahead. However, if he wants to do away with Daylight Savings Time and make the…
1
Posted in2024 election National politics

Trump voters feel much better about economy now, though nothing has changed

If there ever was any doubt that the opinion of voters on important factual issues facing our country is heavily influenced by their political leaning, a pair of Politico/Morning Consult polls released today has put that doubt to rest. The title of the Politico story tells the tale: "Trump voters feel very differently about things now that he's won, our new poll shows." Remember how the sorry state of the economy was cited as a major factor in Trump's victory and Harris's defeat? Well, three weeks have passed since the election. The economy is in virtually the exact same state…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election City Club Donald Trump

Political scientist explains why Trump won at City Club talk

After a national election, I look forward to Ed Dover explaining the results at a Salem City Club presentation. Dover is a retired political science professor at Western Oregon University. Dover's talk last Friday was his 13th City Club appearance. Dover began by saying that asking the right questions is key to understanding election results. Adapting the opening song from Hamilton, he said, how could a liar, conman, narcissist, sex with a porn star candidate become president for the second time? Three factors: (1) Entrenched partisanship, (2) Retrospective voting, (3) Democratic constituencies.  Entrenched partisanship. Other countries have more variation in…
1
Posted in2024 election Donald Trump Kamala Harris

My tips about preserving sanity in the runup to presidential election

It takes one to know one, goes the familiar saying. Applying that to the current political situation, I know  the stress lots of people are under right now, because I'm feeling really stressed myself.  Today I mentioned in my Tai Chi class that I was going to try to use the Tai Chi principle of relaxed softness on November 5, election day, because I'm going to need all the help I can get in staying calm as the votes are counted and announced. That led to an interesting mid-class discussion among the half dozen or so students in attendance. It…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election Donald Trump Kamala Harris

Trump campaign is self-destructing. Great news for Harris.

Like lots of Democrats, I worry incessantly about how well the Harris campaign is doing. Even though the presidential race is essentially a toss-up, us Democrats fret that Harris isn't doing better, while Trump supporters look at the same toss-up and think, "We're going to win for sure." But today I'm feeling a lot more optimistic.  Right on schedule, with just over a week to go before the election, the Trump campaign is self-destructing in plain view of voters. The clearest sign of this is the disastrous Trump rally in Madison Square Garden Sunday night.  Trump and other speakers were…
1
Posted in2024 election Donald Trump Kamala Harris

My prediction is that Kamala Harris will be a great president

Last night I watched the CNN town hall featuring Kamala Harris and a group of undecided Pennsylvania voters. No Donald Trump, because he was afraid of an invitation to debate Harris on CNN that she accepted, and when CNN offered Trump his own town hall, he chickened out of that also. So much for the fake-macho Republican presidential candidate that world leaders supposedly fear. Trump doesn't even have the courage to go head-to-head with Harris again, undoubtedly because she kicked his ass badly in their previous debate. Watching Harris answer questions from the undecided voters, occasionally side-stepping a pointed question…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election Donald Trump National politics

Trump is a fascist, says his chief of staff, John Kelly

What bothers me the most about today's Republican Party isn't the conservatism -- my mother was a lifelong Republican with deeply held conservative values -- but the Party's dangerous submission to Donald Trump, thereby elevating a single man's personality over Republican principles. The Republican Party that my mother belonged to was fervently anti-communist and anti-totalitarian. It believed that the United States had an almost sacred duty to spread democracy across the world and resist authoritarianism. Yet here we are, in 2024, with whatever Trump spouts off becoming the de facto policy of the Republican Party. Trump admires the dictatorial leaders…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election Donald Trump National politics

New Yorker article: “Trump is a distinctively vile human being”

At this late date in the 2024 presidential campaign, what mystifies me the most about the election if how about half of this country's voters still support Trump despite his obvious vileness. In an article in the October 21, 2024 issue of The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik, a highly skilled writer and analyzer of current events, discusses the disease of Trumpism in "As Bad as All That: Donald Trump and the unmaking of America." (Online title: "How Alarmed Should We Be if Trump wins again?")Download How Alarmed Should We Be If Trump Wins Again? | The New Yorker The final…
2
Posted in2024 election Donald Trump Kamala Harris

The New Yorker endorsement of Kamala Harris is a thing of beauty

I'd expect nothing less of The New Yorker, a magazine I've subscribed to for much of my life that is known for its great writing and (often lengthy) articles on important subjects, not to mention quality fiction and reviews of books, theatre, TV shows, and movies. The New Yorker's endorsement of Kamala Harris for president in the October 7 issue was five pages long, much more extensive than the typical newspaper endorsement -- assuming your town still has a daily newspaper (mine does) which makes endorsements (mine doesn't, nor does it even have an opinion section anymore).Download The New Yorker…
2
Posted in2024 election National politics

Walz-Vance debate was too boring and disappointing for this Democrat

As an avid Democrat, I was energized after Kamala Harris' debate with Donald Trump. Harris clearly won, and she made some great criticisms of Trump that sent chills up my progressive spine. Last night's VP debate between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance felt much different. At first I thought it was boring in a good way. However, as the debate neared its conclusion I felt that Walz was being overly Minnesota nice. Plus, he didn't seem comfortable on stage, while Vance appeared to be enjoying himself, which bothered me. The only real zinger that the Democrats I follow on Twitter…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election Joe Biden National politics

Biden wanted to cling to power, which would have been a disaster. Pelosi saved us.

Thanks to an article in the September 2 issue of The New Yorker, "Life of the Party: The Democrats seem rejuvenated by their new candidate. Why was it so hard to get one?," I learned about how close the Democratic Party came to being stuck with Biden after his disastrous debate, because he and his staff were so adamant about him staying in the presidential race. Below are excerpts from the article by Andrew Marantz that show the extent to which Biden was dangerously out of touch with reality until Nancy Pelosi and a few other leading Democrats put enough…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election Donald Trump Kamala Harris

Harris has much better chance than Biden of beating Trump, says Nate Silver

Today Nate Silver, who ran the acclaimed 538 web site back when it was part of the New York Times, turned on his proprietary election prediction model (Silver maintained the rights to it after he became an independent analyst) following a hold when Biden withdrew from the presidential race. Now Silver considers that there's sufficient polling data for him to get the model up and running again with Harris as the Democratic candidate. Here's a couple of key figures from his Silver Bulletin, which I pay $10 a month for a subscription that gets more detail than his free offering.…
No Comments
Posted inInternational issues National politics

Netanyahu lied shamelessly in his address to Congress today

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's hugely unpopular prime minister, is that country's Donald Trump in this regard: Netanyahu lies shamelessly, seeks to cling to power to avoid being held to account for crimes he's committed, and avoids taking responsibility for his failures. Today Netanyahu used an address to Congress, which was boycotted by a large proportion of Democrats in the House and Senate, to continue spreading falsehoods about how Israel has been conducting the war against Hamas under his failed leadership.  I watched most of the speech, then couldn't stand all the B.S. that was flowing freely from Netanyahu's mouth, and fast-forwarded…
1
Posted in2024 election Joe Biden Kamala Harris

I’m a happy Democrat again, thanks to Harris replacing Biden

What a difference a day makes when it comes to presidential politics. I woke up on Sunday, yesterday, feeling fine about my personal life and crappy about the prospect of Biden refusing to withdraw from the presidential contest, thereby likely guaranteeing a Trump victory this November. Then, later in the morning, I checked my phone and saw that Biden had withdrawn. At first I couldn't believe it. Maybe it was a sick joke? But a bit more scrolling on X revealed that yes, it was true. I raced to find my wife and tell her the good news. We both…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election Joe Biden National politics

BIden will destroy the Democratic Party if he doesn’t withdraw

Every day President Biden dithers around, now with Covid clouding his already-suspect thinking, trying to decide whether he should withdraw from the presidential race, he sets the stage for a catastrophic destruction of the Democratic Party if he fails to do the right thing and turn the nomination over to Kamala Harris. I say this as a (formerly) proud Democrat who always backed my party's candidate for president with enthusiasm. Now I rejoice in replying "stop" to every text message asking me to donate to Biden's campaign. I have no interest in helping his candidacy in any other way, either,…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election Joe Biden National politics

Why I’m a depressed Democrat (it’s all Biden’s fault)

What a difference a debate makes. Prior to June 27, 2024 I was an optimistic Democrat, looking forward to watching President Biden kick Trump's lying ass face-to-face.  After the debate, along with many millions of other members of my party, I was deeply disturbed by the inescapable reality that Biden not only didn't do any ass-kicking, he appeared befuddled during much of the debate and at times couldn't express a coherent thought.  Some three weeks later, my mood hasn't improved. If anything, I'm even more depressed now. Politically, not clinically, thankfully. (I've experienced actual depression; it's way beyond what I'm…
No Comments
Posted in2024 election Donald Trump National politics

It’s good Trump wasn’t killed. Now let’s defeat the S.O.B.

Let's not learn the wrong lesson from yesterday's attempt to assassinate Donald Trump. The biggest problem facing our country isn't toxic political discourse. It is Donald Trump. To believe otherwise is to deny some evident facts. That's why I disagree with the basic premise of Biden's speech to the nation today.  President Joe Biden used a rare Oval Office address on Sunday to condemn political violence and plead with Americans to turn down the temperature in the increasingly toxic political system after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. ...Speaking from the Resolute Desk, Biden decried that the political…
1