Donald Trump Re-election

I am tired of our erratic president

by Dave

If there is a common tread of everyone who has worked closely with Donald Trump, it is his erratic actions and his inability to work within the system. It is what caused General Mattis, our former Secretary of Defense e to quit. Similarly, Rex Tillerson, our former Secretary of State, also resigned. His long time personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, describes Trump’s total disregard for ethics and honorable and looks simply at what is best for himself. Similarly, our former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, describes Trump as highly impulsive and self-serving.

The long awaited stimulus package negotiations was obviously going too slow for Donald Trump, so in a tweet, the negotiations were ended. It is likely Steven Mnuchin didn’t even see this coming. It was likely that the only way to get the bill passed in the Senate, would be with the help of Democrats.

Passage of the stimulus bill was vital to keeping certain sectors of our economy from failing and helping those affected by Covid-19 regulations get by with rent and basic essentials until there is a vaccine, likely to happen in 2021.

So, passage of Stimulus II was only going to be a bipartisan victory, not an exclusive Republican victory like the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, which I believe will happen. It might not be completed by election day, but she will be soon on the Supreme Court.

Please do not elect Donald Trump to another four years. Joe Biden could have gotten Stimulus II through both houses of congress, because he understands the process and has the patience.

Stay tuned,

Dave

September 29 debate – Part II

by Dave

The presidential debate was a mess, with excessive rudeness and interruptions. Wallace is trying to be neutral, but Trump felt he could overpower Wallace. Midway through the discussion, Wallace makes his frustrations clear to President Trump,

“I’m the moderator of this debate and I would like you to let me ask my question and then you can answer your –” and before he’s finished, Trump interrupts.

See below the discussion on health care. Wallace’s question was preceded by three statements of fact: (1) The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Nov 10, 2020 on the challenge to the Affordable Care Act, (2) There is no comprehensive to replace it, contrary to Trump’s repeal and replace campaign promise and (3) You signed a largely symbolic executive order to protect people with pre-existing conditions five days before this debate (Direct quote from Wallace).

The question to Trump was mired in interruptions. Wallace asks, “So my question, sir, is what is the Trump health care plan?”

Here’s the discussion from the transcripts. Note, towards the end, I have included only comments from Chris Wallace.

WALLACE: Mr. President, the Supreme Court will hear a case a week after the election in which the Trump administration, along with 18 state attorneys general are seeking to overturn —

TRUMP: That’s right.

WALLACE: — Obamacare, to end Obamacare. You had spent the last —

TRUMP: Because they want to give good health care —

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: If I may ask that question, sir.

TRUMP: Go ahead.

BIDEN: Good health care. (– Biden interrupts)

WALLACE: Over the last four years, you have promised to repeal and replace Obamacare but you have never in these four years come up with a plan, a comprehensive plan —

TRUMP: Of course, I have.

WALLACE: — to replace Obamacare.

TRUMP: Of course, I have.

WALLACE: Well, I’ll give you an —

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I got rid of the individual mandate.

WALLACE: — when I finish, I’m going to give you an opportunity —

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Excuse me. I got rid of the individual mandate which was a big chunk of Obama —

WALLACE: That is not a comprehensive plan.

— Trump wants to talk about Obamacare, Wallace is looking for Trump to talk about his plan, and he doesn’t want to do this.

TRUMP: That is absolutely a big thing. That was the worst part of Obamacare.

WALLACE: I didn’t ask —

— Trump interrupts Wallace, to redirect the discussion to Obamacare.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Chris, that was the worst part of Obama —

WALLACE: Sir, you’re debating him, not me. Let me ask my question —

— Trump interrupts Wallace

TRUMP: Well, I’ll ask Joe.

— Trump now wants to be moderator! Wallace response is simple.

WALLACE: No —

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: The individual mandate was the most unpopular aspect of Obamacare. I got rid of it. And we will protect people with preexisting condition.

— Trump interrupts Wallace

WALLACE: I’m the moderator of this debate and I would like you to let me ask my question and then you can answer your —

— Trump interrupts Wallace.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Go ahead.

WALLACE: You, in the course of these four years have never come up with a comprehensive plan to replace Obamacare and just this last Thursday, you signed a largely symbolic executive order to protect people with pre-existing conditions five days before this debate.

So my question, sir, is what is the Trump health care plan?

Trump talks about future plans to bring down cost of prescription drugs, and fails to discuss “pre-existing conditions.”

WALLACE: What about pre-existing conditions?

WALLACE: As I say, this is open discussion. Let me ask you about…

— Trump interrupts Wallace again.

WALLACE: Sir, you’ll be happy, I’m about to pick up on one of your points to ask the vice president, which is, he points out that you would like to add a public option to Obamacare, and the argument that he makes and other Republicans make is that that is going to end private insurance and will…

BIDEN: It is not. Sorry.

WALLACE: If I can ask you the question. It will end…

— Trump interrupts Wallace as he asks Biden a question. Trump is turning Wallace’s question as a statement of fact. Trump feels it is his turn to talk even as Wallace says this is a question for Biden to answer.

TRUMP: Not what your party says, by the way.

WALLACE: It will end private insurance and create a government takeover of health care.

BIDEN: It does not. It’s only for those people who are so poor they qualify for Medicaid, they can get that free in most states except governors who want to deny people who are poor Medicaid. Anyone who qualifies for Medicare — excuse me, Medicaid would automatically be enrolled in the public option.

The vast majority of the American people would still not be in that option. Number one. Number two…

— Trump interrupts Biden.

TRUMP: Joe, you agreed with Bernie Sanders’s far left on the manifesto, we call it.

— Trump now is asking the question, trying to redirect the question away, to an attack on Bernie Sanders.

===== From this point forward, I will only show Wallace’s comments.

WALLACE: Mr. President, can you let him finish, sir?

WALLACE: Please let him speak, Mr. President.

WALLACE: Mr. President… (Trump cuts him off)

WALLACE: Gentlemen, you realize that you are both speaking at the same time. Let the president — go ahead, sir.

WALLACE: I’ve got to… (Trump cuts him off)

WALLACE: I have to give you roughly equal time. Please let the vice president talk, sir.

======

So, there are a number of tactics going on. First, Trump knows oral arguments will be on November 10, so above all, he wants immediately to change the subject to what was so horrible about Obamacare. He interrupts Wallace’s question eleven times.

Trump is pushing his own accomplishments and ignores the fact that the Supreme Court case is being asked to rule that the entire law is unconstitutional because it no longer contains the individual mandate.

So, the tactics are to pre-emptively interrupt the moderator, and then answer a question more to one’s liking. Also, since the question was posed to Trump, he feels it is his time, and can interrupt Biden. A statement of fact from a moderator for Trump is a question in terms of a point of dispute.

Part III on the debate is in preparation.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Republicans who will not back Trump

by Dave

“Folks we are better than this”  Elijah Cummings favorite saying.   A new book will be coming out soon.  It may have been in preparation prior to his untimely passing.  He always had a very positive spirit.

A long list of well known Republicans will not vote for Trump,  Some will do it quietly, with no explicit endorsement of Biden.  See Forbes article at the bottom of this blog.    Many names are very familiar, such as John Bolton, Colin Powell, Jeb Bush and  George W. Bush, Chief of Staff, John Kelly recently stated he wished there were other choices.  Former Defense Department Secretary under Trump, General Mattis, has voiced opposition to Trump.   Other ex-Trump officials have spoken out against him as well, including Homeland Security advisor Tom Bossert, communications staffer Omarosa Manigault, National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security advisor John Bolton,

Former Homeland Security Department Chief of Staff Miles Taylor accused Trump of withholding disaster aid from blue states and claiming “magical authorities” above the law. Miles Taylor served at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff. As so many have reported, Donald Trump looks first as policy as a marketing scheme to get himself re-elected.  It is more of what would be popular among his base.  This comes from many lifelong Republicans including the former Director of the National Security Agency, John Bolton.  Bolton is not endorsing Biden, just not voting for Trump.

Among those voting for Biden are Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell  and  Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett Packard CEO and GOP presidential candidate.  She was briefly the running mate of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), so her political views are similar to Ted Cruz,  She cannot support Trump.  Carly Fiorina stated,  “Character matters, as does leadership and [Trump] has neither.”

Policy can’t be what makes the president looks good on Fox News.   His acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention contained 20 lies or misleading statements.  I will post the list soon.

Excerpts from  Miles Taylor:

The president has tried to turn DHS, the nation’s largest law enforcement agency, into a tool used for his political benefit. He insisted on a near-total focus on issues that he said were central to his reelection — in particular building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. Though he was often talked out of bad ideas at the last moment, the president would make obviously partisan requests of DHS, including when he told us to close the California-Mexico border during a March 28, 2019, Oval Office meeting — it would be better for him politically, he said, than closing long stretches of the Texas or Arizona border — or to “dump” illegal immigrants in Democratic-leaning sanctuary cities and states to overload their authorities, as he insisted on several times.

John Kasich ran for President as a Republican.  He will Biden a unifier.  He talked about restoring and rejuvenating America.

The Honorable John Kasich
Former Governor of Ohio
Democratic National Convention
Monday, August 17, 2020

America is at a crossroads. Sometimes elections represent a real choice, a choice we make as individuals and as a nation about which path we want to take when we’ve come to challenging times. America is at that crossroads today. The stakes in this election are greater than any in modern times.

Many of us have been deeply concerned about the current path we’ve been following for the past four years. It’s a path that’s led to division, dysfunction, irresponsibility, and growing vitriol between our citizens. Continuing to follow that path will have terrible consequences for America’s soul because we’re being taken down the wrong road by a president who has pitted one against the other. He’s unlike all of our best leaders before him, who worked to unite us, to bridge our differences, and lead us to a united America.

I’m a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country. That’s why I’ve chosen to appear at this convention. In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times. I’m proud of my Republican heritage. It’s the party of Lincoln, who reflected its founding principles of unity and a higher purpose. But what I have witnessed these past four years belies those principles.

Many of us can’t imagine four more years going down this path, and that’s why I’m asking you to join with me in choosing a better way forward. I believe the best of America lies ahead, but only when we rediscover our shared belief in the United States of America, for our children’s future, which can be bright, hopeful, and inspired if we choose to make it so.

I’ve known Joe Biden for 30 years. I know his story of profound grief that has so deeply affected his character. I know Joe is a good man, a man of faith, a unifier, someone who understands the hopes and dreams of the common man and the common woman, a man who can help us to see the humanity in each other. He knows that the path to a restored and rejuvenated America lies in respect and unity and a common purpose for everyone.

Yes, there are areas where Joe and I absolutely disagree. But that’s OK because that’s America. Because whatever our differences, we respect one another as human beings, each of us searching for justice and for purpose.

We can all see what’s going on in our country today and all the questions that are facing us, and no one person or party has all the answers. But what we do know is that we can do better than.

August 17-20, 2020

____

Former cabinet officials have witnessed Trump’s craziness.   I hope to add to this blog.  Please see the Forbes article.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links:

All The Republicans Who Have Endorsed Joe Biden For President