Breaking News? No, Heart-breaking News

Ted Cruz for President?   This would be an utter disaster.  It is heart-breaking that someone like this could even seriously be considered.  This idea of self-selecting a candidacy with the full support of the media is perverse and beneath the dignity of the United States of America.

The worst announcement since Lester Maddox.  

Developing Story on DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN WATCH --

Early this morning I had the pleasure of reading the on-line article linked to below.  This article from the Brookings Institute has some good data on the debacle which was Election 2014.  This election must be understood before Democrats can regain control of the national legislature.

There are many gems here and I want to take my time later to highlight several items.  But before going further, let the reader be reminded of the allegations contained in the research of Greg Palast that voter disenfranchisement very likely played a role in at least one Democratic defeat.  This defeat was probably in Arkansas.  However, I suspect evidence that Kay Bailey Hutchison was also a victim in North Carolina.

Good news, however, also came out of North Carolina with Democratic candidates winning local office in the Raleigh area.

Fortunately, Democrats are not standing still.  The fiasco of Election 2014 must be understood.  It is clear already, though, that this election did not represent a wave election for the Republicans, but was more of a stand-down by voters coupled with dishonest Republican maneuverings.

The Financial Roots of Democratic Troubles in Election 2014

Democratic Senator Kicked Out of Office by Republican Hijinx: Report

Investigative reporter Greg Palast has uncovered evidence of a vast scheme to disenfranchise voters in the election of last November.  One result was the defeat of a sitting U.S. Senator.  (Palast does not say which one.  I will try to find out.)

This blog was founded last fall as the stakes in the Senate race were being ratcheted up by low-ball politics and a media distracted by a non-existent Ebola pandemic.  I am grateful for the work of Greg Palast as he begins to show just how rotten that election process was, especially in the South.


For more and a link to the Palast story, please click here:
Democratic Senator Kicked Out of Office by Republican Hijinx

Logan Act Reference Called Political Bait

I haven't seen a single Constitutional Law professor say this is a real thing, for good reason. I used to teach Constitutional Law. Nobody's going to charge anybody with this. It's not treason either under any reasonable definition. I'd call it a stupid counter-productive political stunt. That's what Hillary called it.   

--  Monica Bauer 
Playwright and Political Science Professor; Writing Fellow at Quinnipiac University

Brad Friedman Reports on Hillary Clinton E-mail "Scandal"

Unheard program for reference:
Brad Friedman Covers Hillary Clinton's Supposed E-mail "Scandal"


I have not yet had the opportunity to listen to this program and thus have no comment on it.  I thought you would be interested.  

Hillary Clinton E-Mail "Scandal" Blowing Over

The Hillary Clinton e-mail "scandal" appears to be essentially blowing over at this moment.  Evidently, she possibly did not break any laws after all.  At least the facts don't necessarily point in that direction.  It will take time to sort the matter out.

That leaves the question of whether she was trying to cover up anything.  According to Maureen Dowd of New York Times fame, both Clintons are secretive to a fault.  Oh, I suppose so.  Most modern Presidents have been secretive, including Barack Obama.

But there was something seedy about the criticisms of Mrs. Clinton in this matter, as if one were looking to find a scandal, any scandal, in order to ruin her.

This, of course, doesn't give Hillary Clinton a clean bill of health.  But let us hope this 2016 campaign can be first, honest and genuine, and second, substantive.  Dwelling on what kind of e-mail Hillary Clinton used, especially if her e-mails become available, doesn't seem to pass muster.  

Citizens Group Issues Useful Statement on Clinton E-Mails

The citizens' watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington issued a statement a few days ago about the Hillary Clinton e-mail situation.  This statement seems to win the prize for pertinence as well as brevity.  Here is the statement:


Statement from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, March 3, 2015 -- 

“Today’s New York Times report shines a light on a systemic problem throughout the federal government. Agencies simply do not know how to handle emails from a record keeping perspective. That is why President Obama issued an executive order mandating that all agencies have electronic record keeping systems in place by 2016. But that will take new technology, which means money, which is why the President gave agencies several years to comply.
"Secretary Clinton is not the first agency head to go without an official email account. FOIA requests CREW sent during the Bush Administration revealed that then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff did not have official email accounts, and we understand the practice was even more widespread and continues to the present.
"This issue is not unique to any official or agency. It is an ongoing issue that President Obama’s order is designed to address.”

*******

It certainly seems there is a strong element of making a mountain out of a molehill here.   

Hillary Clinton Announcement Reportedly Set

Two Internet sources are reporting Hillary Clinton has decided to announce her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in April.  This would be a month sooner in the process than Barack Obama in 2007.

Donors have reportedly begun to grow restive amid allegations of corporate and foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation.  Such allegations could complicate Mrs. Clinton's campaign.

So, here we go again.  The stage is being set for a redux of 2000 in which a Clinton administration member fell victim to charges of being soft on corporatism.  Of course, we shall have to see how the campaign develops.  And the economy itself will likely overshadow everything else.  But if the economy sinks in 2016, Mrs. Clinton will likely receive blame, tied as she was to the Obama administration.

A challenge, whether formal or informal, from the left is a very real possibility, especially in the nomination process.  But with the Green Party also active again, third-party influence next year could once again be a factor.  What a tragedy it would be if a Democrat insufficiently loyal to traditional Democratic ideals (compromised by a sweet-heart relationship to Wall Street), would fail to surmount difficulties, allowing the Presidency to fall to -- whom -- Bush-Bush?   Please spare me.  Spare us.

First Lady Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton Announcement Reportedly Set