Sunday Musing 2/28/2016

Ah, Leap Year.  We get one more day of February and an extra day of this mindless endless campaign to be the next President, which of course happens every Presidential election.  You think the founding fathers intentionally wanted an extra day of campaigning for the Presidency or it just happened that way with the timing of the founding of the nation?

Did you know Donald Duke endorsed Donald Trump?  So the KKK supports Trump.  What does that make Trump supporters and endorsers like Chris Christie and Sarah Palin?

There is a movie named "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" coming out in March based upon a book written by a journalist who was in Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years in the late 2000's.  The one pertinent comment she made about the whole Western approach to the issues with the Taliban and ISIS is her hope for her movie. "Maybe more people will start talking about a holistic approach to the region rather than the Whack-a-terrorist game we seem to be playing." But we won't expect any of the GOP candidates to understand the need to explore that.

Meanwhile, with Hillary's big win and her obvious qualifications to understand the issues of the Presidency, I am still troubled by her baggage and will fill in the dot for her name because the alternatives are so awful.  Bernie Sanders cannot achieve his dreams and he will be as ineffective as Barack Obama has been.  How can President Obama win so decisively and not have longer coat tails?    And there is no need for me to go on at any length about how the GOP candidates refuse to propose policies that will actually help people.  If they would discuss how they would replace Obamacare while not allowing insurance companies to charge more for pre-existing conditions, balance the budget and keep the government operating to protect the public safety, I would consider voting for a GOP candidates.

On that last point, the Zika Virus certainly shows the need for a public health system and the CDC.

At least Hillary is qualified to be President.  But I understand the American desire to have someone new in the Presidency.  Newness brings hope and a possibility of change.  When someone has been part of the national political scene for 24 years and counting, while that brings qualifications, it also means many voters just simply want to move on.

And Ross Douthat went on a rant today about how Obama is responsible for the rise of Donald Trump.  While Douthat does acknowledge some Republican responsibility for the support of Donald Trump by Reagan Democrats (I would point out that I was Reagan Democrat, but I became a RINO and then returned to the Democrats), he then goes on to lay the blame on the Imperial Obama Presidency.  I am virtually speechless in my political rage at this.  Does Mitch McConnell and the let's ruin this Presidency deserve no blame for the "Imperial Presidency".  What about the absolute need for the government to operate and protect the people?  What about GOP punditry that did not rail against the GOP for failing to negotiate and compromise?  As I wrote yesterday, Democracy requires compromise.

And Obama asked the Congress to authorize the activities in Syria against ISIS and the Congress refused.  So when Douthat says "The current President has expanded executive authority along almost every dimension:  Launching wars without Congressional Authorization, claiming the power to assassinate American citizens", he is going against the grain of actual GOP support for all this and a GOP desire to actually do more of the same.

So my only takeaway on Dothan's column is that he has gone off the rail in his angst about Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio dominating the GOP.

link to Douthat column