Welcome to WeeklyWilson.com, where author/film critic Connie (Corcoran) Wilson avoids totally losing her marbles in semi-retirement by writing about film (see the Chicago Film Festival reviews and SXSW), politics and books----her own books and those of other people. You'll also find her diverging frequently to share humorous (or not-so-humorous) anecdotes and concerns. Try it! You'll like it!

Category: Politics Page 1 of 35

Presidential caucuses have been Connie’s specialty in Iowa as she followed the elections of 2004, 2008, 2012 and wrote the 2 books “Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House.” She also continues to follow politics by avidly reading everything she can get her hands on, including “Rolling Stone,” “Mother Jones,” “Newsmax,” “Time,” etc.

“The Tennessee 11” Examines Gun Violence @ Nashville Film Festival

A documentary entitled “The Tennessee 11,” directed by Rod Blackhurst, focuses on eleven Tennessee citizens  who came together to try to reach consensus on solutions to gun violence in the state. The eleven were:  Tim Carroll, Arriell Gipson Martin, William Green, Jaila Hampton, Ron Johnson, Brandi Kellett, Mariah Levison, Adam Luke, Alyssa Pearman, Ashley Phillips, Mark Proctor, Kevin Shrum, Kelly Wilder and Jay Zimmerman. The record of their discussions towards that goal became the documentary “The Tennessee 11.” It will be showing at the Nashville Film Festival on both September 21st and September 24th.

The opening of the film, which involved body cam footage from Officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, responding to a call of a school shooting at 33 Burton Boulevard at the Covenant Christian School in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville on March 7, 2023, was riveting. On March 27, 2023, 28-year-old Aiden Hale (born Audrey Elizabeth Hale), a transgender man and former student of the Presbyterian Church elementary school, killed three nine-year-old children and three adults, before being shot and killed by the brave officers. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in Tennessee history.

The music and pacing and credits at the beginning of the film were riveting. I could only pray that the first 22 minutes accurately represented the rest of the 79 minute film. But quelling a shooting turned out to be more interesting than watching eleven people disagree politely for an hour, although the study of the differing viewpoints was absorbing in a more cerebral way.

CURRENT TENNESSEE GUN LAW

Demonstration in Nashville.

Demonstraters in Nashville.

Permitless carry became legal on July 1, 2021 for handguns in Tennessee. Tennessee does not require a permit to carry an open or concealed handgun in public and also expressly allows a person to carry any firearm, loaded or unloaded, in a lawfully possessed motor vehicle or boat, as long as they are not prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm. Many Tennessee natives are upset about this. They have been  demonstrating in an attempt to convey their unhappiness about lax supervision of firearms.

This eleven member group was formed to try to reach consensus on some realistic solutions to the problem of gun violence in the United States. It was quite the task, given the vast differences in perspectives of the Tennessee Eleven. While the group seemed to make some slight progress and a bill was actually passed that represented 5 of the suggestions the panel made, that bill didn’t require any kind of permit for a firearm. Sadly, the statement about “the transformative power of conversation” seemed to fall apart upon further scrutiny.

Much more to the point was the remark, “What good is awareness without action?”

MASSACRES OF THE PAST

That latter remark reminded me of the day that President Obama said was the worst day of his presidency: December 14, 2012. On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people, after shooting and killing his mother. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old; the other six were adult staff members. Not much was done to stem the tide of violence after Sandy Hook, and the parents of those children murdered twelve years ago are still fighting in court for change, including trying to get Alex Jones’ “Infowars” show, which insisted the event had been staged, off the air. There is an interesting HBO original 2024 documentary directed by Dan Reed entitled “The Truth vs Alex Jones” that shows the struggle of the families of the murdered children to bring Jones to justice, which I highly recommend.

Citizens of the United States might look at what was done in Australia after their worst massacre in modern history. The Port Arthur massacre in 1996 led to sweeping gun law reforms in Australia. It occurred on April 28, 1996 when Martin Bryant killed 35 people and wounded 23 others in a mass shooting at the Port Arthur Historic Site in Tasmania. Sweeping gun reforms were enacted in Australia, but here in America we can’t get our act together and “The Tennessee 11” illustrates why we can’t. Let’s not bring up the Las Vegas concert shooting or the Uvalde,Texas elementary school shooting that killed 19, because there have actually been more mass shootings this year, so far, (385) than there are days in the entire year. (Talk about depressing.) A mass shooting is defined as an event that took 4 or more lives.

THE GROUP

Like all groups, some individuals contributed more than others. The members ran the gamut from the man of God, Kevin Shrum, a pastor, who said, “When did gun violence start bleeding out in the way of guns?” Oh, I don’t know, Reverend…maybe when it became so easy to get a gun and carry it around without much (if any) attempt to regulate who gets a gun or where that gun can be carried. Reverend Shrum talked about “soul work,” adding yet one more layer of difficulty to finding any kind of workable solution to the problem.

JAY ZIMMERMAN, VETERAN

Jay and Mark

Jay Zimmerman (left) and Mark Proctor (right).

Veteran Jay Zimmerman, a member of the Tennessee 11 who helps counsel other veterans with PTSD, said his work involved suicide prevention. He was one of the dyed-in-the-wool members of the group who kept insisting that his need to have a gun was “a love instilled in me by my grandfather.” He also mentioned “hunting for food” as essential. He was a veteran and referenced his own personal failed suicide attempt. Jay was quite vocal about “the right guaranteed to me in the Constitution” to have guns and was shown strolling about in a wooded area with a rifle.  I was less impressed with Zimmerman when he revealed that he had a best friend (Vic, from Fort Bragg) to whom he spoke on February 16, 2016, the night that Vic took a gun and killed himself. So, the last person to speak to him was a suicide prevention specialist and also his best friend. Vic’s wife called up the next day, wanting to know what Vic’s last words had been. (She may have had a few other blunt questions for Jay; I know I would have had). Jay seemed impossible to convince that guns kill people and letting them be so easily obtained might not be in the best interests of the veterans he counsels, himself, or the residents of Tennessee. He was very big on his Second Amendment freedoms, however, and seemed to have little concern for the blowback from letting every Tom, Dick or Jay have a gun that they enjoyed shooting just for fun, as he said he did.

MARK PROCTOR, HIGHWAY PATROL CAPTAIN

Mark Proctor

Mark Proctor.

Then there was the Highway Patrol Captain, Mark Proctor, who, as an officer of the law, wanted to know that there were some gun laws in place that might help assure him that he was going to be able to return home safely at the end of his work day. Proctor was one of the better voices for sensible permitting regulations, but he was immediately opposed by firearm instructor Tim Carrol ( who valued his job security more than the lives of those who might be shot with a weapon they would not have been able to purchase if sane permitting laws existed), saying, “You start to chip away at what freedom is when you start limiting people.”  Tim found the idea of having to have a permit to carry a handgun infringed upon his freedoms. He shared that if he endorsed one of the more creative solutions put forth regarding permitting in Tennessee, his career as a firearms instructor would be over. Mark and Tim did not seem to be on the same page or even reading from the same book. I sensed a great deal of disagreement between the lawman (Mark) and the firearms instructor (Tim) with the veteran allied on Tim’s side (Jay) and Mark only able to count on the female college professor (Brandi Kellett).  When Mark said  “my back-up might be 30 minutes away” and having some sensible rules about whether or not people were allowed, willy-nilly, to buy and carry firearms would help him stay safe during highway traffic stops, Tim retorted, “When seconds count, police are minutes away.” So, judge for yourself if those three are ever going to really reach an agreement.

Ron Johnson.

Ron Johnson—the only Black man on the panel— was a former gang member who had reformed and become the Director of Safety in Nashville for Governor Bill Lee. He contributed very little useful information. At one point the phrase uttered by someone was, “We can’t trust the man.” I don’t think it was intentionally aimed at Ron, but he was The Man.  I wondered if bringing in an actual current gang member might have been an interesting contribution to the pace and language of the documentary. (We’ll never know.) The contention that we must all be allowed to have guns to protect ourselves surfaced. Usually, the person using the gun in these discussions was portrayed as 80 years old.

 FROM THE GROUP

The Tennessee 11

The Tennessee 11 at the state legislature

There were some creative suggestions that the members of the group contributed. My favorite was the idea of the gentleman shown addressing the legislature as the film ended, who contributed the idea of firearms training being a deductible amount of money that you would be able to subtract from your taxes. He was quite clear that the deduction would be “an incentive, not a “mandate.” At that point the conversation disintegrated into an exercise in semantics involving the term “incentive” versus the term “mandate.” There was the creative use of acronyms to sum up an entire range of issues represented by ACES, (which meant Adverse Childhood Experiences &/or Adverse Community Environments. It could also mean: All Consensus Eludes.)

Most of the female members of the group either remained relatively silent or expressed sensitive statements about how gun violence had affected them, personally, often in tears. College instructor Brandi Kellett contributed this statement: “The laws have only served gun owners’ needs.” I got the feeling that she could have articulately expressed the pro permits point of view and run circles around the Reverend and all but three of the other panel members.

Young Jalia Hampton, a 16-year old Black student activist from Memphis was also articulate, mourning the loss of her best friend, Braylon Murray, who was killed at 17. She talked about the violence in Memphis and how it had escalated dramatically. At one point she is shown visiting Braylon’s crypt, which took us out of the same room for a bit (a welcome relief).

Alyssa Pearman, a teacher, was reduced to tears as she shared experiencing the shooting of one of her 16-year-old students on April 29, 2022, saying, “It’s one thing to see it on the news, but it’s another to live it.” Alyssa then lost a second female student February 10th. She said, “I can’t seem to separate from it because it keeps happening.” Another good series of remarks talked about mental health impacting gun violence. As one female member of the group said, “A child who does not feel the love of a village will burn the village down.”

THE BAD

The group got into the weeds and began trying to “address the underlying issues” which were so many and so major that bringing ALL of them up pretty much guaranteed failure . In addition to the front-and-center gun violence epidemic, the group discussed, among other weighty issues: the right to live freely; poverty; the lack of quality education; childhood trauma; the lack of communication skills; empathy for the killers as well as the victims and so many other major issues that my head began to swim. There was talk of the stigma around mental health issues and cultural stigmas and how the state (and, presumably the nation) needed to strengthen counseling services. [Gee…maybe pay teachers a living wage, since they are always expected to pick up the slack when home and counselors fail to do their jobs well].

The film slowed down after the very promising opening, but it still contained a semi-positive ending, when the legislature—which had previously been mired in stasis (and chaos)—did pass something that reflected 5 of the points that the Tennessee Eleven had come up with (and on which 30,000 Tennessee citizens had commented, online).

It’s a start, but, coming from Texas where I live 8 months of the year, I’d say without fear of contradiction, that there is much room for improvement on the part of the Tennessee (and Texas) legislature(s).

The Moose Is Loose on Friday the 13th (2024)

 

@trump_mania

President Trump stops by TreeHouse Pub in Bettendorf, Iowa! #trump #donaldtrump #donaldjtrump #trump2024 #trump #maga #makeamericagreatagain

♬ original sound – JH

Connie Wilson & Amanda Kelly

Amanda and I were mightily amused by the Moose. (It doesn’t take much to entertain us).

Harking back to my post-debate piece on the Harris/Trump September 10th debate, faithful readers—all 3 of you—will remember that I asked the question “IS LUCY SAFE?” regarding a pet cat that we were forced to re-home because of  our wintering in Texas. Lucy—like the pet cats and dogs that Donald J. Trump claimed during the September 10th debate are being kidnapped and eaten in Springfield, Ohio—was an indoor/outdoor cat, as she had come to us from the ravine behind our house. Could she have become a statistic in Trump’s always unreliable statistics?

The newspapers on the day after the debate, were filled with memes and comments on that unlikely topic of the debate, i.e., the kidnapping of cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio and their alleged use as an entrée by Haitian immigrants. In Springfield (a town that Bart Simpson calls home)  it has apparently gotten so bad that the city fathers have asked for understanding. They have acknowledged that their city’s sudden fame and prominence has become a real problem, complete with bomb threats.

Taylor Swift and cats

Taylor Swift and cats

The dog/cat debate came on the heels of the RFK, Jr. revelation ( made to Roseanne Barr while on television) that he once picked up a dead bear that was road kill and took the animal with him to clean it and eat it. While this may be normal behavior for the Kennedy clan, most of us would not stop and scavenge a dead animal, taking it along to clean and eat later.

In the version I read, RFK, Jr.. then remembered that he had reservations at Peter Luger’s Steakhouse—an establishment I have actually eaten at once—and, therefore, decided to forgo cutting his own steaks from the dead bear. Instead, the young RFK, Jr., dumped the dead bear in Central Park, along with a bicycle. This may have been imeant to make others think the bear bicycled there and expired. (I’m not sure I understand the part where one stops and picks up road kill, saving it “for later,” but I definitely found the bear/bicycle story to be even more unbelievable than the Springfield cats & dogs story.) Also, I wondered if the Moosehead was much smaller than the whale head that RFK, Jr., is said to have cut off with an electric saw after the animal washed up on a beach.

Connie Wilson and Mr. Moose

Does this moosehead rival the whale head that RFK, Jr., also is said to have removed with a chain saw?

So, with the two paragraphs above as preamble, imagine my surprise when, upon leaving a restaurant known as the Treehouse, there was a $1,795 dollar moose head sitting outside the door in a flimsy wooden cage. Wow. This was random even on a Friday the 13th! And WHY was the moose head—worth nearly $2 grand—sitting there with no security and no obvious owner?  Was Brian Rashid planning on mounting it somewhere within the restaurant? Did it have anything to do with the Bull Moose Party? (That’s the last time a very questionable assassination attempt went awry when the bullet struck a copy of Teddy Roosevelt’s speech, as I understand it.)

THE TREEHOUSE

Brian Rashid

Brian Rashid, owner of “The Treehouse”

The Treehouse (Bettendorf, Iowa) is owned (or co-owned) by Brian Rashid, who is a big Donald J. Trump admirer. On September 20, 2023, DJT stopped by the Treehouse restaurant in Bettendorf, Iowa, after campaign stops in Maquoketa and Dubuque.  Articles online suggest Rashid has had 12 or 13 DUI arrests and may have been illegally triggering alarms to see if law enforcement responded promptly enough to suit him. It is somewhat remarkable that the GOP party in Scott County was not aware of all this about the owner of the Treehouse, since it isn’t what most campaigns would want associated with their candidate…unless the candidate is Donald J. Trump.  Trump handed out pizza to random patrons; he signed autographs for some of the lovelies assembled in the restaurant.

DJT at the Treehouse in Bettendorf, Iowa

Trump at work charming Iowans and signing…uh…autographs?

 

THE MOOSEHEAD

Moose head

The moose is loose.

 

As we were exiting the restaurant on September 13th (FRIDAY, the 13th), there was a large moose head immediately outside the door, with a price tag commensurate with the going rate on large moose heads: $1,795. (The moose is loose!). I couldn’t help but wonder if RJK, Jr., had a hand in this random moosehead situation right outside the door of one of the area’s most vocal Trump supporters.

DINING AT THE TREEHOUSE ON FRIDAY THE 13th

I cannot fault the food, (although the Scott County Health examiners have done so after inspections), but on Friday the 13th the women’s bathroom was tied up the entire night. No idea what, exactly, was going on in there, but there is only one rest room for the men (a one-holer) and one rest room for the women (also a one-holer). I stopped and tried to enter the women’s rest room on our way into the restaurant, as I had consumed two Diet Dr. Peppers prior to our trek across I-74 to dine.  A full 40 minutes later it was still impossible to gain entrance. Then our friends (a couple with two children, one a third-grade girl) arrived.

Isla wanted to wash her hands. I accompanied her to the rest room that had been “busy” when we entered.

It was still busy. At least 40 minutes had passed since my first futile attempt to use the rest room.

If you want a Moose head, be prepared to shell out Big Bucks. (But money well spent—right?)

I encouraged my small companion to give the door handle a good try. She certainly did.

Later, she announced her intention of standing by the door until the occupant emerged. (That was way more than I was willing to do.)

Soon, Isla returned to our table and shared the news that the toilet in the women’s rest room was “all backed up” and that she heard a woman “throwing up” behind the door. (She gave a very good imitation of the noise she heard. Bravo, Isla!).  She advised that any of us wanting to use the bathroom should try the men’s rest room. (Nothing like a smart third-grader to cut to the root of the problem and figure out what is going on behind a locked door.)

The food and service was satisfactory, but the rest room situation was not great. I told our server that the  women’s rest room had been continuously occupied for at least an hour and he acknowledged that it was “probably a staff member.” (Ewwww)

So ends my tale of the Treehouse Restaurant in Bettendorf, Iowa, (which offers the Plantation Salad, well-known in the area if you are  50 or older). And a story of cats, whales, moose, RFK, Jr., DJT and Friday the 13th, 2024.

Kamala Harris Emerges #1 with Swiftie Support

Kamala Harris

Presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

As the Trump/Harris debate wound down, I turned to my spouse and said, “I think Kamala Harris just talked herself into the White House.” I have liked her ever since Joe Biden selected her to be Vice President, so that’s fine by me, Boss.

She was definitely the more detailed of the two debaters.  I thought that DJT came off as a loon but he always does. Anyone who brings Hannibal Lecter and windmills onto the stage of a political rally is, well, weird—(to quote the next Vice President of the United States.)

Not since Pizzagate have I seen a loonier set of statements than Donald J. Trump talking about pets in Springfield, Ohio being kidnapped and eaten by out-of-control immigrants.

IS LUCY SAFE?

We had a cat named Lucy. She was a stray kitten whose mother had either abandoned her or been killed. She came to us from the ravine behind our house because my daughter began to feed her. As winter came on, nothing would do but we had to rescue Lucy and bring her inside. We did, indeed, feed her and she became a very fat cat.

This new cat adoption caused a great deal of stress, as we already had a cat named Kitty Kelly. I ended up writing 6 children’s books entitled “The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats.” (Available on Amazon). When we began spending winters in Texas, I actually paid a woman who worked at my veterinarian’s office $3,000 (plus a complete box of cat food and an automatic cat box) to take my indoor/outdoor cat and give her a good home where she could go in and out, as she had at our house.

Taylor Swift and cats

Taylor Swift and cats

Now I’m worried: HAVE HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS KIDNAPPED AND EATEN LUCY? “In Springfield, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” (a Trump quote). This ridiculous claim originated from a Facebook post. There are no credible reports of this happening. Even J.D. Vance admitted it might turn out to be viral nonsense.

 

SPECIFICS

Kamala Harris was very specific about her plans for bringing down the costs for middle class families. She talked about a $6,000 child tax credit and $25,000 credit for first-time home buyers, while DJT had the look of a puzzled puppy throughout. His worst answer was in regards to health care and a bill for same, which he claimed to be working on for 9 and ½ years (“we have some concepts”).

The Biden Harris camp was left with a 6.4% unemployment rate, but it was significantly down from 14% earlier in the pandemic. (Fact checker on CNN calling out the only falsehood that Kamala may have made during the debate, while DJT made at least 33 untruthful statements.)

TAYLOR SWIFT

The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats series

The Christmas Cats Fear for the Deer

I hope that Taylor Swift is holding onto her cat, Benjamin Button, very tightly tonight, especially since she endorsed Kamala Harris tonight, after a fake A.I. endorsement appeared on Trump’s site, which caused her to come out and transparently endorse Kamala Harris.

It appears that the GOP will now be whining about how “unfair” the moderators were tonight, because their guy did such a poor job.

Works for me.

Below this short recap are my typed notes on the debate of September 10th, with some interesting lines that struck me. Enjoy. Or not.

**************

 

 

MY NOTES ON THE DEBATE:

DJT:

“The tariff will be substantial in some cases…” (Trump, re China). “When I had it I had tariffs and yet I had no inflation.” Probably the worst inflation in our nation’s history. This has been a disaster for people. On top of that we have millions of people pouring in from mental institutions and taking jobs of African American and Hispanics. (Springfield, Ohio)

2025.” “Everybody knows what I’m going to do. Cut taxes. “We did a phenomenal job with the pandemic.” “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. “We built ventilators for the world. “They don’t give me enough credit for the great job we did with the pandemic.”

HARRIS RESPONSE:

“I am offering an opportunity economy.” The best economists have reviewed our plan. Goldman/Sachs. Wharton School –DJT’s plan would explode the deficit. 16 Nobel laureates say it would increase inflation and invite a recession. “You just have to look at where we are and what we have to offer.”

TRUMP RESPONSE  – Many of those professors at Wharton think my plan is a brilliant plan. He has no plan for you…..”She doesn’t have a plan.”

Drill down on tariff: national sales tax

HARRIS RESPONSE:

Tariffs up to 20% on goods coming into this country would mean higher costs on gas, food, etc. $4,000 per family. All of the countries that have been ripping us off for years. Tariffs there 3 and ½ years now in place. “I had virtually no inflation.” “they’ve destroyed the economy.”

Keeping the tariffs in place: “The Trump policy = he ended up selling American ships to China to help them improve and modernize their military. We need to focus on American based technology, on what we need to do to support America’s work force, so that we don’t end up on the short end of the stick.”

President Chi thank you on Twitter mentioned by Harris.

DJT ATTACK:

“She’s a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist professor and he taught her well. Look at the millions of people pouring into our country daily. I believe it is 21 million.”

They’re criminals. I believe that many of these people are criminals.

HARRIS ATTACK:

Calling him out on his reversals on abortion (6 week ban in Florida). Why should they trust you?

“They have abortion in the 9th month. The previous governor of WV: “The baby will be born and we’ll decide what to do with the baby.”  DJT said (of Tim Walz) “He is REALLY out of it.”

Execution after birth. That’s not okay with me. Hence the vote (in Florida).

“Through the genius and heart and strength of 6 Supreme Court Justices we were able to get it.” (Roe v. Wade).

A 12 or 13-year old survivor of incest. I promise you I will proudly sign it into law. If DJ were to be elected, he will sign a national abortion ban. There will be a national monitor who will report on abortions.

DJT RESPONSE:

Trump: “We’ve gotten what everybody wanted. For 52 years this issue has torn our country apart. What she says is an absolute law. This issue has now been taken over by the states.

Went on about student loans:“All these students got taunted by this whole idea.”

“She’ll never be able to get it. (student loans) They could never get this approved.

HARRIS ATTACK:

Reinstating the protections of Roe v. Wade. “It’s insulting to the women of America.” People are being denied IVF treatment.

[Trump’s face: that of a puzzled dog.]

“The majority of Americans believe in the rights of women to make decisions about their own bodies.”

DJT RESPONSE:

Trump: “I’ve been a leader on fertilization and IVF.

Why did the administration wait until 6 months before now to act (on border bill)?

HARRIS RESPONSE (citing the bill that Trump killed):

Bill would have put 1,500 more border agents on the border. More resources to crack down on fentanyl.

He’d prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. A leader who actually addresses the problems at hand. People start leabing his rallies early because he talks about Hannibal Lecter and windmills. You deserve a president who puts you first.

Why did you kill that bill?

He refused and wanted to go on about his rally. “We’re a failing nation. Our country is being lost.” WWIII Border. In Springfield, they’re eating the pets of the people. (Kamala laughed).She’s destroying our country. If she becomes President: Venezuela on steroids.

Springfield, Ohio: dogs. “We’ll find out.”
Kamala: “talk about extreme!”

Kamala mentions the endorsement of 200 Republicans, including the VP alive. His former Chief of Staff: Kelly: contempt for the Constitution. Sec of Defense: The nation would never survive another Trump term.”

“I think the choices are clear in this election.”

DJT RESPONSE:

Trump:  “I’m a different kind of a person. I fired them not too graciously. When somebody does a bad job, I fire ‘em. Esper: fired. Wrote a book. They didn’t fire any of their people. I got more votes than any Republican in history by far.

Immigration – “the largest deportation move in history (11 million illegal immigrants). Question:

“They allowed terrorists, many many millions of terrorists.

They’re destroying the fabric of our country. (How would you get rid of them?)

Crime in this country: migrant crime.  The FBI has said no….”fraud”—

HARRIS ATTACK:

She brings up Trump’s many legal cases. Respect for the rule of law.

It is important that we move forward…that we turn the page and address the problems of the American public. Address bringing down the price of groceries. The American public is exhausted by thi same old tired playbook.

Trump tries to defend his  convictions in court. Every one of those cases was use of the justice department. Weapnization…fake cases.

“terminate” the Constitution of the U.S. Trump has openly expressed disdain for members of our military. Understand what it would be like if this man were back in the White House without any guard rails.

“I probably took a bullet to the head….

HARRIS RESPONSE:

Fracking….decriminalizing border crossings…”I will not ban fracking.” She was the tie-breaking vote on the inflation reduction act (IRA).

DJT:

Rambling on about solar and the desert.

Peaceful transfer of power: He tries to take the  debate away from the Capitol riot to the border.

Anything you regret Jan. 6thh? Minneapolis. Seattle.  (Repeated the question 2x) Trump claims that he offered 10,000 troops to Nancy Pelosi and the Mayor of Washington and they turned it down.

HARRIS ATTACK:

140 law enforcement officers were injured. Some died.  (Charlottesville is brought up by Kamala – there were fine people on each side. Proud Boys: Stand back and stand by.)

Stand for rule of law. Donald Trump the candidate has said there will be a bloodbath if you don’t like the outcome of this election.

Energy? Now he’s bringing up the border again.

DJT RESPONSE:

“She’s so bad. It’s been so ridiculous.” Get him out of bed at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. They have the right to do it (i.e., shut the border).

Truth in these times:  you won in a landslide. Are you now acknowledging that you lost the presidential race of 2020? We need good elections and walls/borders. (Anti immigrant blather)

DJT:

60 cases.  No judge looked at it. They said we didn’t have standing.

That’s old news. “We have a nation in decline and we have put it into decline.”

HARRIS ATTACK:

Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people and clearly he’s having a difficult time processing that.

World leaders are laughing at DJT. “They say you’re a disgrace.” We do not have the right temperament of the man to my right. (Victor Orban of Hungary)

Nordstream pipeline. Excel pipeline.

Israel/Hamas issue:

The NATO allies are so thankful that you are no longer President.

DJT RESPONSE:

“We have a President who doesn’t even know if he’s alive.”

HARRIS RESPONSE:

A dictator (Putin) who would eat you for lunch…

DJT:

Putin would be sitting in Moscow …he’s got nuclear weapons. (“Nobody ever thinks about that”). “Everything they said was weak and stupid.  The war stated 3 days later. She’s worse than Biden.”

Trump accused Kamala of causing the Ukraine war because of her poor negotiating. “The American people have a right to rely on a President who understands that we have stability and not sell them for the benefit of personal flattery.

Afghanistan – (Trump goes on about how “he got them to pay up.”  Re NATO.

HARRIS:

He does not understand the role of the American president and the work that we must do to uphold the respect of the role of the U.S. around the world. (Invited the Taliban to Camp David).  Abdul, the leader of the Taliban.

Negotiated an agreement. (She says the Taliban got 5,000 prisoners released.) The agreement was terminated by us because they didn’t do what they were supposed to do. “The most embarrassing moment in American history,” said DJT.

MODERATOR:

RACE – “Why do you think it is appropriate to weigh in on the racial identity of your opponent?”

Harris: I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who uses race to divide the American people.  We don’t want this kind of approach that is constantly trying to divide us. (Brings up the failure to rent to Blacks and the full page ad about the Central Park Five and the birther thing against Obama.) We see in each other a friend, a neighbor, we don’t want a leader who is constantly having Americans point their fingers at each other.  (Confused dog lead)

DJT RESPONSE:

“There’s never been anything like it. Going back many, many years. Mayor Blomberg agreed with me. This is a person who has to stretch back 40 or 50 years because there’s nothing now.”

HARRIS RESPONSE:

Harris: Clearly I am not Joe Biden. What I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country,. One no brings a sense of optimism. I believe in what we can do to strengthen small businesses. Let’s talk about our plans. I have a plan. I have a plan that is about allowing people to pursue the American dream.
Belittling, name-calling is all he has.

DJT:
She has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun.

Repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. (Obamacare)

CNN: 63% say Harris won the debate. 37% say DJT won the debate.

Harris/Walz Sit for CNN Interview on August 29, 2024

Kamala Harris

Presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz sat for a joint interview at Kim’s Cafe in Savannah, Georgia on August 29, 2024. It was Harris’ 7th trip to Georgia and it is 68 day from the presidential election.

The Republicans have been making a Big Deal out of the fact that Harris (and Walz) had done no sit-down interviews, despite the fact that she just spoke about her vision for America from the DNC stage in Chicago and has been vocal about her views for a long time. One might point to the fact that Donald J. Trump goes off-script and offers bromides about windmills and toilets when he is onstage, which is not particularly helpful in trying to determine his true mind-set about a second term. It appears that his policy playbook would be “All Retribution All the Time.” He has grudges against a lot of people and is still proclaiming the untenable position that the 2000 election was stolen from him, Only his most loyal and blind-to-the-truth supporters even attempt to repeat that falsehood—the Kari Lakes of the party.

For the rest, it is a given that Trump lost in 2020 and Joe Biden has been President of the United States ever since. Only his decision to step away from the Oval Office at the end of his term and pass the torch to a new generation has vaulted Harris to the national prominence that she now enjoys, but she has been the acting Vice President (and the pivotal key vote in the Senate to break ties) ever since 2020. The GOP seems intent on painting a gloomy picture of the future and of being personally insulting to the woman who once served as Attorney General of the State of California. Trump has even gone so far as to say his 78-year-old orange out-of-shape self is “better looking” than the attractive Democratic candidate.

CNN’s Dana Bash asked Kamala Harris:

ON DAY ONE?

Tim Walz

Tim Walz at the DNC in Chicago

  • If you are elected, what would you do on Day One in the White House? (Some of her answer is paraphrased below):

“I would do what I can support the American middle class….People are ready for a new way forward. .People are fueled by hope and optimism, but the former President is pushing an agenda that is about diminishing the character and strength of Americans. I would be implementing my plan for an opportunity economy (bring down the cost of daily goods, invest in families, extend family tax credit to $6,000, investing in the American family on affordable housing.)

Walz, asked about his agenda for a term as Vice President said his goal would be: “Inspiring  Americans to what can be. We did it in Minnesota and diminished childhood poverty by 1/3.”

WE’RE NOT GOING BACK

  • “We’re not going back.” What if some of the Americans want to go back to DJT’s presidency when things were cheaper? (Bash’s second question.)

“When Joe and I came in our highest priority was to rescue America. Inflation is now under 3%. I have been dealing with price gouging. We need to bring down the cost of housing. (Credit of $25,000 for first-time home buyers.) First of all, we needed to recover as an economy (which is why, she says, she has not done more of this program previously). We capped insulin at $35 a month. When we do the work of bringing down the cost of prescription medication in the first year of being in office, cut child poverty down by as much as 50% this will benefit the American middle class. There’s more to do, but that’s good work.”

FRACKING

  • Banning fracking. Energy. “Do you still want to ban fracking.” Harris’ answer: I made that clear on the debate stage.” In 2020 she was against fracking.  However, in 2024, she says, ” I will not ban fracking.”  She also spoke out about the need for work on climate change:
    “We have a clear crisis in terms of the climate. We created over 300,000 new energy bans.”

THE BORDER

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, the Vice Presidential candidate of the Democratic party.

  • Why did the Biden/Harris wait 3 and ½ years to enforce sweeping border restrictions?

A:  “The number of immigrants coming from that region (Central America, Kamala’s chief job as VP to negotiate with leaders of those countries to reduce the flow) has actually been reduced. Joe Biden and I worked with members of the United States Congress and a bill was crafted by some of the most Conservative members of Congress. The bill would have put 1500 new border agents on the border. That bill would have allowed us to seize more shipments of fentanyl. I will make sure it comes to my desk and I will sign it.”

Decriminalizing the border? “We have laws that have to be followed and enforced. I’m the only person in this race who actually served a border state as Attorney General.”

CHANGES ON POLICIES

  • How did you come to change your  mind on policies?

A:  “The most significant part of my policies is that my viewpoints and values have not changed. Climate change: Set deadlines and goals. We need to set certain goals and meet them.  My values have not changed and 4 years of being VP…traveling the country…I believe it is important to build consensus and to find a common point on which we can build agreement. …I would put a Republican in my administration.” (*This is not particularly revolutionary. After all, Ray LaHood—my former neighbor—served as Secretary of Transportation in Obama’s administration and has endorsed the Harris/Walz ticket, although his son, Darren, spoke glowingly of DJT.”)

TO TIM WALZ:

Tim Walz, Gus Walz and Hope Walz

Hope, Gus and Tim Walz at the DNC.

  • Service in the National Guard:  “I’m incredibly proud of my 24 years in uniform.  ..I’ll never demean another member’s service. I never have and I never will.” Walz spoke of his son Gus’ emotional outburst at the DNC in a positive way and only GOP nay-sayers have demeaned the 17-year-old who proudly declared “That’s my Dad” when Walz was onstage.

Walz was asked about his 1995 arrest for DUI:  “I’ve been very public. My students come out and vouch for me. I think people know who I am. I’ve taught thousands of students. The contrast could not be clearer between us and our opponents.”

When Kamala Harris was asked about the non-issue of whether she had identified as Black before now, she simply dismissed the comment as being “Same old tired playbook.”

GAZA ISSUE

Gaza: would you do anything differently. “I am unequivocal in Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself. 1200 people were massacred. Women were horribly raped. Israel has a right to defend itself and so would we. How they do so matters. We have to get a deal done about getting the hostages out, get the cease fire done. We have to get a deal done…the significance to the families, to the people living in this area. I remain committed to a two-state solution.”

JOE BIDEN’S CALL TO HARRIS

Just 39 days ago that Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Before he told the world, he called his VP as she was making pancakes and bacon for her nieces. She spoke very positively of President Biden.

CNN Discussion Post-Interview:

DAVID AXELROD (DNC STRATEGIST)

David Axelrod. (Photo by Lauren Gerson.)

 

“Kamala exuded a sense of confidence and calm. She was very connected to her words She seemed like someone who could be President of the United States. She handled the issue of her changes or perceived changes in policy pretty well. The idea that her values were the thing that has remained constant was a good one.  As she spoke, I thought it showed a certain character. She didn’t run away from Joe Biden. She gave him his due. It was elevating to me in a way that was unexpected. Today, it showed that she can really do it. Hers is a consistent story of growth.

I think Biden deserves a lot more credit for guiding the country through the pandemic and the economic disaster he walked into,. To the degree that they are saying that she is going to continue to do exactly the same thing that Biden did, it is going to be a challenge for her. (But. he noted, it is the President who has the final say on policies, not the VP.)

If I were advising her, I would say make him (Trump) seem small.  We know what his habits are. She should have a conversation with the American people about the way forward she sees, not engage with DJT.”

SCOTT JENNINGS (GOP STRATEGIST)

Scott Jennings,

Scott Jennings, Columnist, LA Times, Daily Mail, Gannett:  “If I were the Trump people I would be salivating over her failure to show remorse” (for things she and Biden achieved or in Jennings’ opinion, botched.) (*He was critical of the Afghanistan withdrawal, but, finally, a President got us OUT of Afghanistan after many years of hearing it as a goal from others.)

Jennings claimed Harris said she was  the last person in the room on Afghanistan. A disagreement arose between Axelrod and Jennings  on what that meant. Axelrod pointed out that Harris was the Vice President, not the President, and the policy decisions were ultimately the President’s, not hers.

Others, such as Astead Herndon of the Podcast “The Run-Up” commented that Harris “is a homework do-er. You can see this in her preparation” and, also, that she is ready to be on the defense. Trump is preparing using Tulsi Gabbard who has debated against Kamala Harris.

 

 

 

 

 

Did Trump Take A Bribe from Egypt?

Donald J. Trump

Donald J. Trump

According to Will Bunch, “It’s the most serious bribery allegation in American history.” What is it? Courtesy of the “Philadelphia Inquirer” and “The Week” magazine (Aug. 15, 2024, p.12) it is bribery of a U.S. President. In its details, it is the bombshell that does not surprise anyone who has a low (but accurate) opinion of former Trump Attorney General William Barr. Barr once said of DJT  that Trump should not be allowed anywhere near the Oval Office, but now says he will vote for him in November. It was Barr who released the Cliff’s Notes version of the Mueller Report, leading the public astray as to what that lengthy report really said.

Remember: it is Egypt that bribed the recently convicted Robert Menendez (D, NJ) with gold bars, cash and autos.

So, here’s the scoop.

“The Washington Post” revealed that 5 days before Donald Trump took office in 2017 the state-run National Bank of Egypt got a request from a government source to “kindly withdraw” almost $10 million in U.S. currency.  Federal investigtors found out about this suspicious withdrawal in 2019 and began examining whether Egyptian dictator Abdel-Fattah el -Sissi illegally gave Trump the cash. Trump put $10 million of his own money into his campaign shortly before the Egyptian withdrawal.  The only thing missing was “the smoking gun that could tie in Trump’s unexamined bank records.” Then Attorney General Bill Barr blocked the investigation.

As president, Trump called el-Sissi “my favorite dictator” and released $1.4 billion in military aid to Egypt.

Congress should open a full-blown investigation into why Barr shut down the original probe.

Trump Team Dusts Off Old “Dog-Whistle” Politics Dirty Tricks Campaigning

Presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

In my recent fact-check of the Trump call-in to Fox News, after Kamala Harris’ speech to the DNC Convention, I mentioned the Willie Horton “dog whistle” attack on Dukakis in 1988 and predicted something similar would occur as Trump uses old techniques to try to drag down his opponent—the dirtier the better, as far as the Trump campaign strategy goes. It wasn’t even more than a day later that the “Washington Post” ran a story on Trump’s attack on Harris for the release of a Willie-Horton-esque criminal named Shawn Tillman.
Talk about predictable tactics from the unscrupulous candidate in the field!
Let’s not forget that Hitler rose to power after claiming that the Reichstag was burned down by his opponents, when history has shown that it was much more likely that Hitler’s supporters committed the arson in order to blame it on his opponents.
And so it goes.
8:50 p.m. EDT

Trump attacks Harris for 2020 tweet supporting Minnesota bail fund

Isaac Arnsdorf avatar

National political reporter for the “Washington Post”

“Trump misleadingly blamed Harris for releasing a man from jail who went on to commit murder.

The allegation comes from a bail fund that Harris tweeted support for in 2020, during the protests that followed George Floyd’s killing. Almost two years later, the fund provided bail for a man named Shawn Tillman, who was charged with misdemeanor indecent exposure.

A judge decided to release Tillman on bail, and that charge was ultimately dismissed. In a separate case, Tillman was later charged and convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

The Trump campaign has attacked Harris’s connection to the bail fund as part of a tactic widely viewed by scholars and other experts as playing on old racist tropes and exploiting stereotypes about crime and people of color.”

Kamala Harris Accepts Democratic Presidential Nomination; DJT Phones In on Fox

I had planned to write a piece commenting on Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech on the final night of the DNC in Chicago, Then, (following the dry cycle of my laundry), I moved to the bedroom to change the now clean  sheets and put them back on the king-sized bed. In the bedroom, Fox News was carrying the DNC.

While I changed the sheets, I listened to Donald J. Trump phone in and rebut Kamala Harris’ speech. I will insert the complete 37-minute content of Kamala’s acceptance speech (in case you missed it), but I have to assume that most of you were watching it, so suit yourself. Unlike Trump, who rambled his way through a basically unlistenable litany of untruths at the RNC, Harris hit most of the issues and delivered her speech with sincerity and enthusiasm. She looked and sounded presidential (because she IS presidential.)

Then I watched 8 voters in Allentown, Pennsylvania say that her speech had sold her to them (auto workers all) and they would be voting for her (they had been unsure in a previous meeting). One woman retained the right to decide later. One  Black male (in real estate) said he’d vote for Trump. Listen to Trump’s remarks about how the auto workers are all supporting him in the phone call above. [*Apparently not the 8 that just spoke to a reporter in Allentown, PA.]

Trump’s illusion that he is “strong” (Macho Macho Man) was consistent with why Black males were supporting DJT over Biden before July 21st. It also explains why Black males find it difficult to get behind the idea of a female president, even if she is half Black (and half Asian).

CHANGE

People want change for the better. This was emphasized by John King, Chief National Correspondent for CNN, who has been traveling the country gauging the temperature of the nation.  Coming into the convention,  Trump had 55% of voters selecting him on the economy versus 43% for Harris and 53% on the immigration issue versus 44% for Harris. Harris led only on the abortion issue (55% to 40%.) [This was from the New York Times Siena Poll. ]  In the next 75 days Harris and Walz must change these perceptions.

CONVENTION BUMP

There are 75 days during which Kamala has to convince voters that she, the current vice president, represents change for the better. That will not be simple, since Harris has been in office as Vice President for 4 years and the GOP will attack her on that basis. (as DJT already did in the phone call above). 

The Siena poll showed that 56% of voters disapproved of Biden. Only 41% approved of Biden in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and the other swing states. Now, the Republicans are going to try to give Kamala “Biden Baggage.” It started tonight with DJT phoning in to Fox & Friends. (*Did Fox & Friends, who claim to be so “fair and balanced” offer Kamala Harris the opportunity to phone in and rebut DJT’s RNC acceptance speech? No.)

John King, who has been doing political reporting for 40 years, says that Kamala did well.  I agree. He pointed out, however, that in 1988: Bush won over Dukakis, but Dukakis had left the convention enjoying a convention bump that put him 17 points ahead in the polls.  Despite the post-convention bump, Dukakis lost “bigly” to George Herbert Bush. This was partially because people wanted change and partially because of the Willie Horton dirty tricks that depicted Horton as practically Dukakis’ running mate. (*For those of you who don’t remember Willie Horton, he was a convicted murderer and rapist, who was released on a weekend furlough from a Massachusetts prison in a trial program and committed a rape and murder while temporarily free. Dukakis was the Governor of Massachusetts. The Bush campaign used Horton’s case to tar and feather Dukakis in a textbook example of what is known as “dog whistle politics,” which is what Harris and Walz are about to encounter, if I were to take an un-wild guess.)

John King was born in 1963, which means he is 61. I haven’t followed politics for as long as John King, but I am close to 20 years older.  I go back to every President since Truman. I’ve also written 3 books on politics (the campaign of 2008) and was named the Content Producer of the Year for Politics by Yahoo in the wake of my coverage of the 2008 election of Barack Obama. (See my books on that topic, “Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House.”)

Taken during a McCain rally at the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport during the 2008 presidential campaign. Cover of Volume II of “Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House.” (Available on Amazon in paperback and e-book).

LIKEABILITY

I agree with the white-haired CNN commentator with the 40 years following campaigns, and I agreed with Geraldo (whom I watched on News Nation) who stressed that “likeability” was key to electing anyone. It was likeability that doomed Hillary Clinton and, to a certain extent, John Kerry, who always seemed a little bit too patrician. We’ve all heard the remarks about how “W” seemed like a guy you would enjoy sitting down and having a beer with (*I don’t drink beer, so that’s a no for me.)   

TAX INCREASES

Bogus. Tax increases on the rich, yes. On the middle class, not so much. Trump’s point on companies taking their business to another country (increasingly Mexico, not China) is fair, but THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR DECADES. Companies moving to cheaper countries is not a Kamala Harris thing; to say it is is unfair. It is far likelier that DJT will raise taxes on the middle class to give tax breaks to people like himself.

BORDER

Trump said, of the bi-partisan border bill, “It was a horrible bill. It was a joke.” It was a bi-partisan bill that was said by those who worked on it long and hard to be quite good. Trump told his allies not to vote for the bill, because it was to be his border issue. If you really don’t know what was in the bill, click on the link above and it will tell you. Don’t just trumpet things that either candidate says; research it. (Anthony Fatone: that is for you, Dear Heart. And thanks for saying I’m “smart as a whip” because that should tell you that, if I’m saying you need to do more “reading up” on these things, maybe I’m right.)

MARXIST ACCUSATIONS

First of all, as our old friend Wikipedia tells us, “There is no single, definitive Marxist theory.[1

It is likely that the “Marxist” accusations are a legacy from Kamala’s economics professor father, who taught at both Stanford and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He has advised his country (Jamaica) on economic issues and some aspects were derived from Marxist writings of various sorts, but her father has remained completely out of Kamala’s career, refusing to be involved in her 2020 campaign and making a rather brusque rebuttal to a lighthearted comment that Kamala herself made (about smoking pot) on a radio show. She said something about smoking pot to the effect of, “Are you kidding? Half of my relatives are Jamaican.” Dad did not like it much, issued a rather public reprimand (Kamala did not respond) and has not had much involvement in his daughter’s career (or her life before that) since the couple split when she was in elementary school.

Jamal Simmons, political commentator on CNN, compared DJT to Midnight Elvis, calling in to talk shows, rambling around in Mar-A-Lago. Jamal mentioned  Trump’s recent appearance in Howell, Michigan. White supremacists held a march there recently and voiced support for Trump, Hitler, Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.  So, Trump’s strategy is to cater to THAT demographic. Roger Stone, a big Trump supporter, has a yearslong relationship with Proud Boys leaders, Enrique Tarrio in particular, and would regularly use members of the group as his personal security detail at political events.

The Many Looks of Roger Stone

Roger Stone.

I seriously doubt that DJT has much of an idea what Marxism is (and, quite frankly, it is difficult to pin it down as there are many offshoots.) There is actually a book on Amazon entitled “Marxism in Plain and Simple English.” It’s 62 pages. If Donald J. Trump really thinks that Kamala Harris is a Marxist simply because of her estranged father (a professor of economics), that is really reaching. I think The Donald needs a copy of that book. (*After all, Steve Bannon, his brain trust, is currently in jail until 2 days before the election, so the Wizard of Odd is having to rely on people like The Mad Hatter, Roger Stone, for intellectual guidance.) Another thing that his insult brings to mind are recent put-downs that DJT has made about Kamala Harris’ intelligence; she is quite obviously the child of two very bright people (while Trump’s own intelligence is often questioned, despite the supposed expertise and education that led to multiple bankruptcies.)

Here’s a snippet from “How to Compare Marxism to Capitalism.” It is quite clear that Kamala Harris is no Marxist. To wit: “Marxism, oftentimes interchangeable with communism, emerged from the writings of Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels in the 19th century, and is based on the theory that class conflict will eventually result in the establishment of a society where the public owns the means of production. The two theories are historic enemies, and their differences are most acute when examining their attitudes toward individualism, private property and profits.”

At no time has Kamala Harris sounded like she is not supportive of capitalism simply because she has argued for everyone in our society having a fair shake and an equal chance at making a life where they each of us has the freedom to make choices for themselves (as, for instance, in reproductive rights.)  Trying to paint Harris as a Marxist or Communist is a page right out of the “dirty tricks” playbook of the GOP going back to 1988.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D. New Mexico), commenting after Harris’ speech, said she “showed us tonight what leadership looks like.” It is up to every woman of voting age in America to ask themselves whether they want the freedom to decide about their own health care and to decide if they do (or do not) want to have a child. Women need to mobilize like our grandmothers to gain us the right to vote. Only, this time, it is the right to live free (and not die) under an autocratic ruler who simply wants power for himself and his cronies.

IN CONCLUSION

As D.L. Hughley said at the convention, “The only way that Trump can keep Kamala out of the White House is if he buys it and refuses to rent to Black people.”

 

Tim Walz: VP Nominee Radiates Good Will & “Minnesota Nice” at the DNC on 8/21/2024

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, the Vice Presidential candidate of the Democratic party.

I’m watching Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota  accept his nomination for Vice President of the United States and I can’t help but think of “the happy warrior,” aka Humbert Humphrey—also from Minnesota.

So far,  Tim Walz has called the campaign “incredible” and has thanked both Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. It IS pretty incredible to think that a high school coach from Mankato, Minnesota can potentially become the Vice President of the United States, but—at least on the Democratic side—stories like Barack Obama’s and Kamala Harris’ and Tim Walz’s do occur “only in America.”

He has proclaimed this moment as “the honor of my life” and his wife and son are blubbering in the audience, which is heartwarming, but also kind of out-of-sync with John Legend’s “Let’s Go Crazy” rendition that preceded him. No less a judge of superficiality than Geraldo Rivera (on NewsNation) has proclaimed the entire schtick “kind of great” and “genuine.” “The whole thing smacked of sincerity, to me,” said Geraldo.

WALZ’S BACKGROUND

Tim and Gwen Walz.

Butte, Nebraska is where Tim Walz grew up, he said from the dais, and there were 24 students in his class. Earlier I had read that he was born in West Point, Nebraska. He also lived in Valentine, Nebraska. Butte, Nebraska came in after his Superintendent of Schools father, a life-long smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer and they moved. Tim’ dad died in 1984, when Walz was 20. Courtesy of Wikipedia, here are a few other states that Walz can lay claim to: “Walz’s father died in January 1984, which left his mother and younger brother dependent on social security survivor benefits for support. He moved to Texas  and took courses at the University of Houston in East Asian studies while being enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard. Afterward he went to Arkansas, where he built tanning beds in a factory and was an instructor in the Arkansas Army National Guard. In 1987, Walz returned to Nebraska and continued his education at Chadron State College, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in social science education in 1989.”

Wikipedia also has this to say about Tim Walz’s career trajectory: “After graduating from Chadron State College in 1989, Walz accepted a one-year teaching position with WorldTeach in Foshan No.1 High School in Guangdong, China. He described the Tiananmen Square massacre that happened right before he arrived as an important moment in his life. He has said that the problem with China is not the people but the government, and that with the right leadership the Chinese people could accomplish anything. After returning, he took a job teaching and coaching in Alliance, a town of ten thousand in western Nebraska, and in 1993 was named Outstanding Young Nebraskan by the Nebraska Junior Chamber of Commerce.

NATIONAL GUARD SERVICE

Hope, Gus and Tim Walz at the DNC.

Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years after enlisting in 1981.] During his military career, he had postings in Arkansas, Texas, the Arctic Circle, New Ulm, Minnesota, Italy, and elsewhere. He trained in heavy artillery, In 1989, he earned the title of Nebraska Citizen-Soldier of the Year.

After Walz completed 20 years of service needed for retirement from the Guard, he reenlisted instead of retiring, and later cited the September 11, 2001 attacks as the reason for his reenlistment. In August 2003, Walz deployed with the Minnesota National Guard to Vicenza, Italy, for nine months to serve with the European Security Force as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Walz attained the rank of command sergeant major near the end of his service and briefly was the senior enlisted soldier of 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery Regiment. His decorations included the Army Commendation Medal, two Army Achievement Medals, and an Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with five oakleaf clusters. “ The GOP campaign has been busy attempting to “swiftboat” Walz’s decades of service, much as they did to John Kerry when Kerry ran for President in 2004.

SMALL-TOWN ROOTS

Hope and Gus Walz.

As someone who graduated from a class of only 110,  I can relate to Tim Walz’s town of origin. “Everybody belongs, and everybody has a responsibility to contribute.” Walz talks about joining the National Guard at 17. His father was a Korean War veteran. When his dad died, he left a lot of debts. (“Thank God for Social Security benefits.”) As Tim has said, “There were 24 of us in my high school graduating class and none of them went to Harvard.” He coached and taught in Mankato and is talking about being a 40-something high school teacher whose students urged him to run for Governor.

DRAFTED BY HIS STUDENTS TO RUN

As someone whose own students urged her to run for the City Council race in East Moline, Illinois, I can relate to Tim Walz’s story. My run for office ended with a cheating scandal that even made its way into the Orange County, California newspapers, when I went door to door, documenting the cheating of the opposition. https://www.weeklywilson.com/helen-heiland-sets-the-record-straight-in-letter-to-moline-il-daily-dispatch/

GUS WALZ, TIM’S SON

Gus Walz at the DNC.

At tonight’s third night of the DNC in Chicago 17-year-old Gus Walz, son of VP nominee Tim Walz, was a welcome blast of fresh air.

The youngster was literally overcome with emotion at his father’s nomination, tears streaming down his face. He was ebullient and animated and hugged both his father and his sister onstage after Walz’s humanizing speech. It was heartwarming. It lifted my heart.

The Walz family told “People” magazine that young Gus has ADHD and anxiety issues, but described him as “brilliant.” I would point out how Gus reacted with joy and love towards his parents and sibling, Hope (born in 2001). The Walz family spent 7 years undergoing fertility treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, New York, in order to have their daughter, Hope (2001) and their son, Gus (2006). The family obviously has a lot of love for one another.  Young Gus reminded me so much of so many youngsters I taught, especially during my years (1985-2003) as CEO and owner/operator of Sylvan Learning Center #3301 in Bettendorf, Iowa. I also taught for 18 years at the 7th and 8th grade levels and have taught many students who would be described as on the spectrum.

THE TOVA TEST

We used to give the TOVA test—Test of Variable Attention—which was 90% effective in diagnosing Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without Hyperactivity. I used to have my entire staff take the test, since it only ran 22 minutes on a computer, and it was not unusual for the Special Education teachers that I employed to score high on the test. Basically, the test-taker had to click a button when a certain form appeared onscreen and the degree of hyperactivity they demonstrated during the clicking exercise would indicate those with problems focusing and staying on message. (I did not score as high on it as some of you would assume, but special education teachers, in particular, did.)

Gus Walz, overcome with emotion as his father accepts the VP nomination at the DNC.

We paid $50 as a credit in a machine to give this test and absorbed it into our operating expenses if the child was our regular student, but, over time, we had more and more local residents who were bringing their sons and daughters in for the testing, in which case we charged them what it cost us to administer ($50). The test had been developed by a physician at the University of Minnesota in collaboration with his teenaged son. I learned about it at a Sylvan National Convention. It was very helpful in establishing whether or not some of our students would benefit from a variety of learning techniques and approaches.

It was not long before the local psychologists got wind of the TOVA. They began charging would-be test takers for an office visit first (over $100) and, if the psychologist felt it was merited, their office would administer the exact same test that we charged $50 for (but charge the test taker considerably more for the privilege.)

SINCERITY SPECIAL AT DNC ON 8/21/2024

It was a real treat to see someone as obviously overcome with emotion as young Gus Walz, who radiated good will towards all. When I saw young Gus Walz—-absolutely overjoyed—point to the stage and mouth the words, “That’s my Dad!” my heart melted a little bit. [If I remember correctly, we didn’t even see Barron Trump at the RNC and I would rather I had not seen Eric and Donald Trump, Jr.]

What a welcome sight. I felt like I had just been licked by a rambunctious, over-friendly puppy. It was great. YOU GO, GUS!

I liked it.

 

 

 

The Obamas Rock the United Center at DNC: The Gloves Come Off (8/20/2024)

Michelle and Barack Obama both spoke tonight at the DNC in Chicago. I haven’t been as moved by a speech since I stood in a field in the Village of East Davenport during the 2012 Obama re-election campaign and listened to the pair say to the crowd, “Stand with me again once more, Iowa.” It was Iowa that gave Barack Obama his ticket to ride to the DNC in Denver, where I was present, and his gratitude for the state’s support never waivered. Iowa’s contingent (and Illinois’) were right down front, honoring them for having honored him. I was overcome with a nostalgic wave of emotion as the former First Lady of the United States spoke then, and I was overwhelmed again tonight, when she spoke in Chicago.

As is my custom, I made every effort to get as much of the speech down as I could. It is not a word-for-word recitation of what was said, but I’m going to try to break it down for you a bit, (as I watched from my Texas living room).

Michelle was brilliant. As Leah Wright-Rigueur, a Political Historian said, “We are living through history.” I felt that in my bones when I began following the campaign of 2008 in Iowa, and I felt that it again, tonight, comfortably ensconced in my living room, watching it like I hope the rest of America was watching it.

So, what did Michelle Obama say that so inspired me?

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

She asked that we “not squander the sense of hope our elders gave us.” She was referencing women like me, who campaigned (unsuccesfully) for the ERA and fought for the right to decide our own reproductive futures. I appreciated the fact that Michelle Obama gave credit to those of us who worked hard to ensure a better future for our daughters. (Why should a panel of old white men or the Supreme Court decide whether my daughter and I do or do not have the right to decide about giving birth?)

VALUES

“In America we have the belief that if you do unto others, that if you work and scrape and sacrifice it will pay off, if not for you, for your children and grandchildren. Those were the values that my mother poured into me until her very last breath. Kamala Harris and I built our lives on those same foundational values. Our mothers shared that same belief in the promise of this country. …The obligation to lift others up…Mom used to say, ‘Don’t sit around and complain about things: do something.’ From a middle-class household Kamala worked her way up to become the Vice President of America. Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment. She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the Presidency. And she is one of the most dignified…a tribute to her mother and your mother, too.”

Michelle went on about Kamala Harris’ background:

“Her story is our story…Kamala knows that, regardless of where you come from, we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life. All of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued. No one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American: no one. Kamala has shown her allegiance to this nation, not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by service.”

TRUMP TAKE-DOWNS

Bee Gone: A Political Parable

Harris “understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward,” Obama said. “We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance. If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No.We don’t have the luxury of whining. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t see an escalator waiting to take us to the top. We put our heads down. We go to work. In America, we do something.. Throughout her entire year, that’s what we’ve seen from Kamala. We’ve seen the joy of her laughter and her life. It couldn’t be more obvious: of the 2 major candidates in this race, only Kamala understands the true work ethic that has always made America great.”

“We don’t get to change the rules so we always win,” she continued. “If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. We put our heads down. We get to work.”

BE AWARE OF OPPOSITION TACTICS:

“We know that folks are going to do everything they can to distort her truth. For years, DJT did everything he could to make people fear us. He tried to make you fear two highly educated, hard-working, successful people who happened to be Black. Who’s gonna’ tell him that the job he is currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs? It’s his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic lies instead of creating ideas that will actually make our lives better.”

Michelle then went on to list some of the Project 2025 goals, such as shutting down the Department of Education and demonizing our children for being who they are and loving who they love. She mentioned (again) shutting down our right to reproductive health care and said, “It only makes us small. It is never the answer. It is petty, unhealthy, and, quite frankly, it’s un-Presidential. Why would any of us accept this from anyone seeking our highest office? Why would we accept this from a candidate? America: our parents taught us better than that and we deserve so much better than that. There is no other choice but Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. But as we embrace this renewed sense of hope, let us not forget the despair we have felt.”

“Remember there are still so many people who are desperate for a different outcome. People who are going to prioritize building their own wealth over building a better tomorrow. We cannot be our own worst enemies. The minute a lie takes hold, we cannot get a Goldilocks complex over whether everything is just right. We cannot indulge our anxieties. We must do everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.”

Michelle Obama’s line about how Trump tried to get Americans to fear the Obamas in office, even though they were highly-educated, hard-working people who happened to be Black is right. There are many analysts who cite Obama’s election to the Presidency as the match that lit the racism of White Supremacists. They are right.

KAMALA & TIM

“Kamala and Tim have lived amazing lives. I am confident that they will lead with compassion, grace and dignity.  It is up to us to be the solution that we seek. It is up to all of us to be the anecdote to darkness and division. I don’t care how you identify politically. This is the time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right. To stand up not just for our basic freedoms but for basic trust, dignity and empathy. For the values at the very foundation of our democracy.”

CALL TO ACTION

“If they lie about her—and they will–we have to do something.  Only 11 weeks to make sure everyone has a voting plan. We cannot afford for anyone to sit on their hands and wait to be called.  Our fate is in our hands. In 77 days we have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division and smallness of the past.”

The talking heads in the room testified that the mood during Michelle Obama’s speech was electric. Although they gave props to Barack Obama for his good speech, hers was brilliant. I teared up at her remarks. She was that good.

So, following on the heels of that brilliance, “one of the most powerful and blistering speeches against Donald Trump” (a quote from one of the talking heads), we heard ex-President Barack Obama and I wished, again, that he was still our President. I found his remarks equally entertaining, (but she was better.)

BARACK OBAMA’S REMARKS:

First, Barack paid tribute to Joe Biden, mentioning their “common Irish blood.” To wit:”His empathy and his decency and his hard-earned belief that everyone in this country deserves a fair shot impressed me. And over the past 4 years those are the values that America has needed the most. At the time when Americans were dying, we needed a leader with empathy and a leader who led the strongest economic recovery in the world. At a time when the other party had turned into a cult of personality we needed a leader who did the rarest thing in politics: putting his own ambition aside for the good of the country. History will remember Joe Biden as a man who, in a moment of peril for this country, did the right thing.”

 

“The torch has been passed. Now it is up to all of us to fight for the America we believe in. For all the incredible energy, for all the rallies and the memes, this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country—a country where too many Americans are still struggling. The people who will decide this election are asking a very short question: who will  fight for me? One thing is for certain, Donald Trump is not losing sleep over that question.”

Light-hearted Remarks:

Leaf blower neighbor (DJT): annoying.

“Here’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down that escalator  8 years ago.

“Childish nicknames. Weird obsession with crowd size. It just goes on and on and on.  Someone compared Trump to the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day. From a neighbor that’s exhausting. From a President that’s dangerous.”

“DJT sees power as nothing more than a means to his end. He wants the middle class to pay for his ambitions.”

When Obama mentioned how DJT had killed the bi-partisan border bill the crowd booed. Obama said, “Do not boo: vote.”

“He doesn’t seem to care if more women lose their reproductive freedom, since it won’t affect his life.”

“He wants us to think this country is hopelessly divided between the real Americans and the outsiders who don’t. He wants you to think that if we will just give him the power to put those outsiders back in place things will be great.”

Presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

“Bluster, bumbling, chaos…We know these movies; the sequel is usually worse. (We have seen that movie before.) America is ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.”

“This is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice. She was not born into privilege. She has had to work for what she’s got. She’s the neighbor rushing over to help when you need a hand, not the neighbor running the leaf blower.”

At this point, Obama mentioned some of Kamala’s fights:  Homeowners….fight to get as much relief as possible for the families that deserved it. As VP helped take on the drug companies to cap the cost of insulin. “She is running for President to guarantee every woman’s right to make their own health care decisions. She won’t be focused on her problems; she’ll be focused on yours. She’ll work on behalf of every American. In the White House she will have an outstanding partner in Governor Tim Walz.”

Barack made this comment about Obamacare: “I noticed that since it got popular they quit calling it that,” True that.

First Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

On the border issue, Obama said, “We can secure our borders without tearing kids away from their parents” (*In re-reading my own book, “Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House” I was struck at how the border was a hot button issue for candidates way back then, including Fred Thompson, whom I interviewed after his speech in Davenport.)

The Obamas stressed that the Democratic ticket wants to “make it better for everybody.”

“Donald Trump…for him, one’s group’s gains is necessarily another group’s losses. For the GOP, power means that those in charge can do pretty much what they want. (taxes; firing people). We want the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water. Freedom for each of us to run our own lives. Freedom requires us to recognize that freedom requires us to let other people make decisions that are different from ours. That’s the America that Tim Walz and Kamala Harris believe in. ‘We the people includes everyone.’ Despite what our politics might suggest, democracy is not just a bunch of abstract principles and dusty laws. It’s the values we live by and how we treat each other, including those who don’t look like us or pray like us or see the world exactly like we do. That sense of mutual respect has to be part of it. We seem so quick to believe the worst of the other side. After a while, regular folk just tune out or they don’t bother to vote. This might work on those who thrive on division, but it won’t work for us who want to make progress on the things that matter.”

“Our fellow citizens deserve the same grace we hope they’ll extend to us.”

“That does not just matter to the U.S. The rest of the world is watching to see if we can actually pull this off. No society has ever tried to build a society as diverse as ours.  Our allegiance and our community are not defined by race and creed . We shouldn’t be the world’s policeman but American can be and must be a force for good. (Climate change, promoting peace,) I know these ideas can feel pretty naïve right now. We live in a time of such confusion and rancor with a culture that puts a premium on things that don’t last. We chase the approval of strangers on our phones. We don’t trust each other as much, because we don’t take the time to learn about each other.”

“Here’s the good news, Chicago: all across America in big cities and small towns, the ties that bind us together are still there. We still feed the hungry and coach the Little League and feel the same pride when our Olympic athletes compete for the gold.”

“We want something better. We want to BE better.”

Barack and Michelle Obama paid tribute to her recently deceased Mom, who lived in the White House with them, saying,“My mother-in-law reminded me of my Grandmother.  (stressing the hard work of his grandmother and mother-in-law). They knew what was true. They knew what mattered: honesty, integrity, kindness and hard work. They weren’t impressed with braggarts and bullies. They didn’t think that putting other people down or lifting themselves up made them strong. They found pleasure in simple things: a good meal and laughter around the kitchen table. Most of all, seeing their children and grandchildren going places and doing things that they never would have imagined for themselves.”

“Kamala’s parents crossed the ocean because they believed in the power of America. They weren’t important or powerful—they were good, hard-working people. A return to America where we work together and look out for one another.  Bonds of affection. The better angels of our nature. That is what this election is about. If we each do our part over the next 77 days. We will elect leaders who will fight for hope. Together we will build a country that is more secure and more just. So let’s get to work. And God bless you and the United States of America.”

Those were the remarks from the 44th President of the United States, who rose to prominence 20 years and 3 weeks ago when making a 2004 speech at the DNC convention that nominated John Kerry (a presidential race that I also followed.)

Barack Obama—one of the most gifted orators to ever hold the office—and his wife Michelle held the audience within the United Center in rapt attention tonight. They made a plea to be patient with voters who might be on the other side and summed up the choice by saying, “Trump’s act has gotten pretty stale.”

 

 

Similarities (Coincidences?) Between the Presidential Races of 1968 and 2024.

Joe Biden

Joseph Biden, when running for President.

I can’t believe that I am the first to write this column, nor will I be the last. But, in the wake of Kamala Harris selecting Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, to be her Vice Presidential running mate in 2024, I feel the echo of one of those pieces from yesteryear. You know the one I mean. Courtesy of Wikipedia, here is the folklore list of coincidences  that were pointed out  back in 1964 between JFK and Lincoln.

I wanted to include the factoid that Tim Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska, while the only President ever born in Iowa was born in West Branch, Iowa, but it didn’t fit very neatly. For me, Walz—while supposedly very likable and personable— was not as outstanding a candidate for VP as a former astronaut from a border state that is in play (and one whose wife survived a serious assassination attempt). But I defer to the greater wisdom of the candidate herself on who will be the best partner  for her in this race. After all, she only had two weeks to vet all the candidates.

I had hoped for Mark Kelly, who is from a swing state, or someone younger, but the Dems don’t want to be seen as too liberal and have selected someone who used to be endorsed by the National Rifle Association (until he changed his opinion after several massacres involving automatic weapons). Apparently the chemistry, for Kamala Harris, was just best with Walz. I just pray she is not making the mistake that Hillary Clinton did in selecting a relatively unmemorable partner for her ill-fated run.

Others had been touting Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro until the GOP started calling him “Genocide Josh” based on some of his pronouncements about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Andy Beshears of Kentucky was hot for a while. The powers-that-be must think that the Midwest, with its many MAGA faithful, is going to be more important than Pennsylvania?   DJT selected an Ohio native (J.D. Vance) possibly for that Midwestern reason.

I have been told that Kelly is not the most inspiring speaker, but…hey! He was an ASTRONAUT!!! My awe at that will date me, since the Cape Canaveral facility has been outsourced to the likes of Elon Musk and it’s kind of sad to visit it now after its days of glory during JFK and the moon landing. This, too, will mark me as someone who has been around for every President back to Truman.

Tim Walz

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota and Vice-Presidential candidate.

Among the following list of “coincidences,” some, according to Wikipedia, are not completely accurate statements:

  • “Lincoln” and “Kennedy” each have seven letters.[5]
  • Both presidents were elected to Congress in ’46 and later to the presidency in ’60.[5]
  • Both assassins, John Wilkes Boothand Lee Harvey Oswald, were born in ’39 and were known by their three names, composed of fifteen letters.[5]
  • Booth ran from a theater  and was caught in a warehouse; Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.[5]
  • The assassins were both Southerners.[5]
  • Both of the presidents’ successors were Democrats named Johnson with six-letter first names and born in ’08.[5]
  • Both Lincoln and Kennedy were particularly concerned with civil rights[5]and made their views strongly known.
  • Both presidents were shot in the head on a Friday and in the presence of their wives.[5]
  • Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy who told him not to go to Ford’s Theatre. Kennedy had a secretary
    Abraham Lincoln

    President Abraham Lincoln.

    named Evelyn Lincoln  who warned him not to go to Dallas.[5]

  • Both Oswald and Booth were killed before they could be put on trial.[5]
  • Both Lincoln and Kennedy were succeeded as President by Southerners named Johnson.
  • Both Johnsons were succeeded as President in ’69 by Republicans (Ulysses S. GrantRichard M. Nixon) whose mothers were both named Hannah. [

, You are either very young or you have been living under a rock since 1964 if you’ve never seen this list—some of which seem to be reaching and some of which are among those “things that make you go hmmmmm” that Arsenio Hall used to talk about when he had a late-night talk show (which also tells you how long I’ve been doing this.)

Bobby Kennedy, Jr.

RFK, Jr. today.

I cannot come up with as lengthy a list of the coincidences between this year’s election and that of 1968, but here’s a start:

  • In 1968 sitting President Lyndon Baines Johnson told the world in a television address that he was not going to run for re-election. Sitting President Joseph Biden told us that he was not going to run for re-election on July 21st, 2024.
  • When LBJ announced his decision not to run on March 31, 1968, it was the day after my wedding. When Biden announced that he was not going to run in 2024, it was 2 days before my birthday on July 23rd’    [This virtually guarantees that I will remember each historic date, especially when playing the game where you are to make up something that occurred on a certain date and then be able to identify which of the submitted events from the game’s players actually happened on that date.]
  • When LBJ stepped down, his Vice President was selected to run in his place. LBJ’s vice president at the time was Hubert Humphrey. (LBJ had no veep for the 2 years left in JFK’s term because that rule did not exist at that time; the position was simply left unfilled until the next election.)  Hubert Humphrey was from Minnesota, just as Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for Vice President with Kamala Harris in 2024, is the two-time Governor of Minnesota.
  • In 1968, the Democratic National Convention was being held in Chicago. In 2024, the Democratic National Convention is being held in Chicago. (August 19-22.)
  • Robert F. Kennedy was running in 1968. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr,, is running in 2024.
  • LBJ stepped down as the nominee largely because of the virulent anti-war sentiment against the Vietnam War. (“Hey, hey, LBJ, How many kids did you kill today?”) Biden stepped down largely because of the intense criticism of the influx of illegal immigrants at the border with Mexico. Each man also faced unrest, violence and riots in large cities. (I remember being in Europe and seeing the headline, in French, “America on the Edge of the Abyss.”)
  • LBJ

    Lyndon Baines Johnson’s 1964 official portrait.

    When LBJ stepped down, he ascribed part of the reason for his decision to his health. All the men in LBJ’s family had heart issues. LBJ secretly commissioned an actuarial study of his life span in 1967; it accurately predicted that he would die at 64.. Johnson had already had a near-fatal heart attack in 1955. Johnson retired to his Texas ranch and died in 1973, 5 years later, aged 64, in somewhat of a self-destructive spiral where he resumed smoking and refused to follow dietary restrictions. Biden’s health at age 81 was a constant source of fodder for the GOP during the run-up to July 21st. Joe’s frail appearance and inability to perform well during an early Trump/Biden debate that his own camp had sought sealed his fate. Democratic party faithful urged Biden to fall on his sword for the good of the party. Biden also had brain bleeds (aneurysms) and surgery in the eighties. At 81, the Republicans cast him as senile, often exaggerating the verbal gaffes for which he had always been known. (Remember the plagiarism scandal of his run for office in 1988, when Biden was accused of ripping off a speech by  British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock? Although Biden had attributed it properly several times before August of 1988, his failure to do so at one campaign stop was capitalized on. The scandal—unlike today’s “anything goes from the podium” Trumpisms—caused Biden to withdraw from the race.)

  • Johnson initially sought to run for re-election. Following disappointing results in the New Hampshire primary, LBJ packed it in, keeping nearly everyone except his closest family members and two close advisors in the dark about his decision. (LBJ secretly hoped that the convention might draft him, anyway, until the very end.) Biden initially sought to run for re-election and agreed to a disastrous early debate against Trump where Biden performed poorly, causing the party to urge him to reconsider his 2024 run. His decision to withdraw was slow; some felt it would not happen at all.
  • Both LBJ and Biden served as Vice President before becoming President.
  • LBJ was the 36th President of the United States. Biden was the 46th President.
  • Both LBJ and Biden had lengthy careers in government and were experts at shepherding legislation through Congress. In 2024, Biden is the 19th longest-serving legislator in history. (1972-2024). LBJ also had a lengthy run beginning in 1931 and continuing until 1968.
  • Both LBJ and Biden had wives who were very active and involved First Ladies, in the mold of Eleanor Roosevelt. Lady Bird Johnson was very active in helping promote LBJ’s legislative aims (and her own) and Jill Biden was considered, like Lady Bird, to be Joe’s closest advisor and helpmate. [The contrast with Melania Trump’s First Lady style is great.]
  • From 1991 to 2008, as an adjunct professor, Biden co-taught a seminar on constitutional law at Widener University School of Law.[70][71] He sometimes flew back from overseas to teach the class. (Tim Walz, this year’s VP Democratic pick, was also a teacher for many years) Lyndon Baines Johnson taught school from 1928 to 1929, pausing his studies to teach Mexican–American children at the segregated Welhausen School in Cotulla, 90 miles south of San Antonio.
  • Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall the first Black Supreme Court Justice in 1967. Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female Supreme Court Justice in February of 2022.
  • Both LBJ and Biden came from humble families, not from wealth.
  • Both LBJ and Biden will go down as great promoters of civil rights and as Presidents who accomplished the most significant legislation during their time(s) in office of any  President of either party over the past 100 years.
  • Both will be viewed much more positively after stepping down than they were viewed when in office.

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