Tag Archives: Politics

When you are against gun control legislation, opposed to ending the death penalty and don’t believe in providing universal healthcare I need to ask, “What about life do you value?”  The pro-life movement in the Republican Party is a marketing gimmick wrapped up in religious fervor and it rings hollow to me.

• When you argue against common sense gun laws that would help save more than 11,000 deaths by guns per year in the US – you are not pro life.
• When you oppose ending the death penalty – you are not pro life.
• When you work to repeal universal healthcare and not replace it with a safety net for your fellow neighbor – you are not pro life.

I can appreciate why individuals for either reasons of faith or personal values would be opposed to abortions, but the value of life isn’t summed up by a single issue. If life is sacred then it is always so – not just as it pertains to abortion rights.

For those who do not know him, Barry Goldwater was a 5-term conservative, US Senator from AZ and the Republican Party’s nominee for president in the 1964. He is credited for sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s.  His prophetic words have come to roost.  It will be interesting to see how this manifests at the first Republican Presidential Primary debate in Ohio tomorrow night on FOX News.

The 2016 Presidential campaign season is in full swing and while anyone could win the election, the window of opportunity seems to be shutting for Republican candidates.  I had thought one of the lessons learned by the Romney campaign and the Republican National Committee after the 2008 elections was that they need to start building bridges with the all important Latino community.

With California and New York solidly in the Democrat’s back pocket (California last voted for a Republican President in 1988 and New York in 1984) and states like Texas where 38% and Florida where 23% of the population identify as Latino, you have to wonder who are these Republican candidates listening to and what do they think the general electorate thinks of their xenophobic rhetoric.

After more than 50 years, the United States officially reopened its embassy in Cuba today.  I hope that this is a sign that travel bans and our embargo will be lifted. Although the repressive Cuban government bans access to the Internet, I still would like to say to all my amigos in Cuba, “Bienvenida. Que pasa?”

John Dingell was a congressman for 59 years before he retired earlier this year. Yesterday Dingell responded to Donald Trump on Twitter after the annoying Republican Presidential candidate accused Senator McCain of being a dummy. Trump’s Tweet was in response to Senator McCain’s comment that Donald has “fired up the crazies” on immigration.  What a pity that it took Dingell to put Trump in his place. What does it say about the character of the other Republican Presidential Primary candidates?

Am I really suppose to believe Republican’s tough talk on foreign policy with Russia’s Putin, Syria’s Assad, and Iran’s Ayatollah, when they run scared from a loud mouthed bully like Trump? 

Thanks to Brian Moynihan for the tip on Twittah.

As the euphoria of last week’s US Supreme Court ruling on marriage fades, a sobering (but not surprising) realization should come to everyone who both supports marriage equality and LGBT rights – every Republican Presidential candidate has denounced the marriage equality ruling.

The NY Times has an interesting article on this which you can read here. One would expect Republican hopefuls like Gov. Mike Huckabee to denounce the ruling but the campaign to convince America that the Republican party has “moderates” running (e.g. Jeb Bush) starts to ring hollow when they too start sounding more like Gov. Huckabee or Sen. Santorum and immediately decry a verdict that by most polls now show more than 60% of Americans support.

Mark my words.  With resounding defeats and a growing acceptance of the LGBT community, those who oppose such equality will now change their tone, using language like “Religious Freedom” as part of their campaign to rollback whatever rights have been earned.  Listen carefully for this coded language esp. from the supposed ‘moderates’ who are anything but moderate but are in a campaign to convince America otherwise.  Language will change tone but not intent as they attempt to appeal to both swing voters and those longing for “the good ol’ days”, A.K.A. when being gay was criminalized, the Confederate Flag was described as a symbol of “Southern Pride” and minorities didn’t account for an increasing majority of America’s voting population.