50 Reasons Why Elizabeth Warren Doesn’t Have What It Takes…Yes, there are 50 reasons I make such a statement which are posted below. Elizabeth Warren is among the first to throw her hat in the presidential ring for 2020, already out there campaigning in Iowa over the weekend: democrat-warren-takes-economic-message-to-iowa-in-kickoff-to-2020-race. The media focuses way too much on a phony issue like her ancestry in trying to stir up controversy, when the real policy issues are what really matters & too often get ignored.
I still consider myself a center-right conservative based on traditional definitions, & Elizabeth Warren seems too far left for me. I do like some of her ideas & the way she’s willing to stand up for the little guy, plus she does seem genuine, passionate & ready to shake up the system. But if I were still a GOP supporter as I have been for most of my life, there’s a whole lot of reasons (50 of them to be exact) I would never vote for Elizabeth Warren (derisively called “Pocahontas” by our current president) as is listed here:
- She’s never bragged about grabbing men by the p-word
- She’s never been credibly accused by upwards of 20 men of sexually abusing them
- She’s only been married twice, not 3 times, & there is no indication she ever cheated on them
- She would never have the need to break campaign finance laws by paying hush money
- She’s way too honest to ever lie around a dozen times per day
- She doesn’t seem to have the personality to constantly insult & bully people
- She respects the rule of law & would not abuse her power
- Her top aides who’d form her campaign staff would likely never become convicted criminals
- Her White House staff wouldn’t be corrupt enough
- She would not obstruct justice since she has no crimes to cover up
- She would refuse to ask for Russia’s help to win the election
- She will not routinely promote crazy conspiracies & Kremlin talking points
- She doesn’t cozy up to & praise ruthless dictators, as she’ll refuse to bow to Putin or “fall in love” with Kim Jong Un
- She wouldn’t fray the ties with allies which have effectively protected free democratic societies for generations, while also not undermining America’s leadership authority
- She’d never encourage pay-to-play schemes with foreign interests
- She would never (& this is a big one) become the darling of Fox News & the rest of the far-right echo chamber
- She will never attack the First Amendment, free speech or freedom of the press, & absolutely would never/ever justify or excuse the murder of a journalist
- She doesn’t feel the need to unjustifiably attack the DOJ & FBI
- She wouldn’t attack or verbally berate any of our hallowed institutions which are the glue holding our democracy together
- There are no signs she ever committed tax fraud
- She would even dare to release her tax returns
- She would never misappropriate funds from a charity
- She will never be the subject of 17 separate criminal or civil investigations
- She has the gall to want working people to earn a livable wage
- She will call out the abuses of multinational corporate interests & big Wall Street banks, who are terrified of her
- Similarly, big energy companies, big insurance companies, big tech companies & big pharma are also terrified of her taking away their gravy train
- If she does run up trillion dollar annual deficits, it might be due to handouts but won’t be handouts to the rich
- She would have the nerve to try helping the working middle class rather than the wealthy
- She seeks to help students affordably get a real college education, not be scammed by a place like Trump University
- She refuses to take away from people healthcare insurance or coverage for preexisting conditions
- She would prefer gun background checks & banning assault rifles over cowering to the NRA
- She favors clean energy over dirty energy
- She would put more teeth into & enforce our antitrust laws
- She wants to make elections fairer by eliminating gerrymandering, voter suppression & dark money
- Her comprehensive immigration reform would see past the wall by including a path for Dreamers
- Her border solution doesn’t include kidnapping kids from their parents
- She refuses to call white supremacists & neo-Nazis “good people”
- She isn’t racist, bigoted, sexist or xenophobic
- She won’t make fun of women’s faces or menstrual cycles
- She just doesn’t have it in her to disparage or mock the disabled, POW’s, Gold Star parents or other ethnicities
- She may also be a divisive figure, but at least she’d make an honest effort to be a leader for all Americans
- She wouldn’t be “proud” to shutdown government or even really want to
- She isn’t cut out to glorify herself as a ego-driven, narcissistic megalomaniac, plus she’s too mentally stable & able to display genuine empathy
- She cannot in good conscience boast about any contrived accomplishments which aren’t real, or blame others for her own mistakes
- She doesn’t possess the con man/BS skills of charismatic deception to ever be a good cult leader
- She has way too many values & too much morality/integrity to ever attract the current president’s cult followers
- She will never encourage the rabid tribal chant to lock up her political opponent
- Her presidential run is not just about herself because she actually cares about other people
- She knows what she stands for, has the depth of knowledge & understanding for the policies she’s proposing, & voters can trust what she says
- As an unabashed progressive liberal she’s the natural enemy of the GOP base, especially with Trump having a stranglehold over his party & their echo-media calling the shots, as Republicans have clearly turned into the party of extreme far-right radicalism
In short, she’s just not qualified! As we can clearly see from that list of 50 shortcomings, Elizabeth Warren isn’t presidential enough from a GOP supporter’s perspective & doesn’t have the stature to hold the office. And with approximately two dozen Dems expected to enter the race, let me boldly proclaim Republican voters can largely reject each & every one of them for exactly the same reasons! Those 50 ways are the inspiration for our selected song at the bottom of part 3 here in thevoracs.com. And here are reports on Elizabeth Warren making her rounds in Iowa:
He’s Not All There, Making Him Extremely Dangerous
The prez is a few bricks short of a dozen, or as this article’s headline states, a few sandwiches short of a picnic: president-trump-press-conference-shutdown-rose-garden. A dangerous president could pull some mighty risky stunts as the next article details. Most Americans just don’t understand or dismiss how truly dangerous Trump has become, but he’s crazy enough to maybe try some of this stuff, especially once he senses his time in the White House is nearly through: presidential-emergency-powers. Here we see an actor playing the President in a TV series getting charged with a crime in real life: live-updates-arraignment-of-kevin-spacey-on-nantucket. Looks like a case of life imitating art!
Romney
We do need more GOP senators like Romney & more GOP politicians in general to take a much harder, more objective look at the toxic shenanigans going on within the Trump administration. Conservatives tend to default to conservative political leaders, but Trump uniquely transcends ideology in that his leadership is completely dishonest, corrupt, destructive & a direct assault on the upstanding values that have always guided our nation. His rule is so off the rails, the prez has become a threat to democracy itself: mitt-romney-donald-trump-values-transcend-partisanship.
Where are the Generals When We Really Need Them?
Trump has become renowned for twisting facts & perpetrating crazy conspiracy theories that often originate from the bowels of the delusional right-wing echo. Without John Kelly & some of the more rational generals there in the White House trying to rein him in & intercept some of this false propaganda, the prez has managed to unleash some of the most preposterous claims we’ve heard yet in the past month, as found inside donald-trump-fake-news-john-kelly-departure. And we have Fox fake news to thank for creating this faux alarm at the southern border: fox-news-shutdown-border-trump-data, with Trump taking his marching orders from this lunatic show host: Hannity-orders-Trump-to-keep-the-government-shut-down-into-February.
Replace Radical Right-Wing Media
Because the right-wing media monster has become so radicalized, we can only hope as Trump goes down, he takes that messaging echo with him. It is possible as the current conservative mindset shaped by the echo gets exposed for the extremist doctrine they spew, sponsors not wanting to tarnish their brand could pull their advertising, causing many of these disingenuous shows to no longer become viable: Shut-down-the-mother. That would indeed be wonderful for our nation, but we should hope & pray it gets replaced by rational, pragmatic, principled conservative dialogue: bulwark-against-trump-trumpianism. But for the time being, Trump has hijacked & owns the GOP:john-heilemann-explains-how-trump-owns-republicans-fear-panic-stupidity-and-cowardice, while the fabricated fear, hatred & anger has filtered down to their gullible base: What-We-re-Up-Against-The-Right-Wing-Mindset. Trump does have overwhelming support from within his party, but signs of hope are seen as that party & his base keeps shrinking: why-trumps-lock-gop-matters-less-less.
Russians Still Attacking Us
Russian propaganda is strategically used to sow discord & aggravate bitter divisions within the U.S. Hundreds of millions of Americans were exposed to the Russia disinformation campaign on social media prior to the 2016 election, with those foreign intrusions still ongoing. Those outlandish conspiracies are also funneled through the far-right echo chamber, with Fox News being a willing or unwilling partner in this assault on truths, while the president always seems quick to spread the nonsense. In these excerpts posted from the intro to donald-trump-fox-news-russia-cia-foreign-spies, there’s evidence shows like Fox & Friends & Hannity are used by Russian intelligence as a foil to communicate with Trump, with their conservative viewers buying all in:
A year ago, AP reported that Russian intelligence agencies were pursuing journalists around the world in the same way they typically target politicians and government employees from hostile states. Much of this activity, according to the report, was aimed at dissident journalists and bloggers who are perceived as threats to the Russian regime. But Aki Peritz, a former CIA analyst and current adjunct professor at American University, believes that certain foreign spy agencies are very likely targeting one specific private institution: Fox News. The reason is simple enough: The president of the United States watches Fox News — a lot — and therefore the channel has enormous influence on what he thinks, tweets, and does. As of November 2017, Trump had tweeted about the Fox News show Fox & Friends 88 times, according to the Washington Post’s Philip Bump.
Save Our Democracy & Constitution
There’s no doubt 2019 shapes up to be a very volatile year, with the rifts between us likely to break out into white hot civil unrest as the details of the various investigations become known. More than ever we’ll need to protect our democratic institutions & adhere to the constitutional rule of law in preserving the republic. We’ve posted this important article from former-justice-leaders-2019-americans-need-to-recall-timeless-principles:
Over the course of the next year, the Special Counsel’s office likely will reach important milestones in its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters including, for example, financial dealings of top governmental officials. Whichever way the facts cut over the coming months, it is likely that 2019 will test Americans’ confidence in our democratic institutions and collective civic fabric. Unhappily, we think that there is too good a chance that it will be a year rife with partisanship, trending towards further divisiveness, and with a good measure of incivility added to the public discourse. As Americans, we will weather the storm together only if we remain committed to fundamentals.
We begin with the First Amendment. The press is always hard on politicians, including any occupant of the White House. Early reports are sometimes wrong; sometimes analysis tends to overshadow verified facts. But it is indisputable that our American-style free press is critical to a functioning democracy: Holding those in power to account for decisions and outcomes and shining a light on activities undertaken by the government that citizens deserve to know. The press is not the enemy of the people. The press is of the people, and provides a critical service to our understanding of how those in positions of authority use — or abuse — power. Our leaders, as well as citizenry, need to remember that.
Second, we have three branches of government, each with independent constitutional responsibilities. The framers debated and rejected a system of government that provided too much power in a monarch-like executive. Instead, the Congress was devised as a critical check on executive authority, with, for example, legislative, appropriations and impeachment responsibilities. Congress can legislate against corruption, can control the allocation of funds for reckless projects not grounded in factual basis or intelligence assessment, and can remove government officials who violate their oath to uphold the law according to a defined standard. These are serious, fundamental responsibilities. Members of Congress, however politically aligned, are not agents of the executive; each one has independent responsibilities assigned by the Constitution and affirmed by their own oath of office. We thus urge our legislators, not only to investigate, but also to legislate in a clear, definitive and responsible way.
Third, while federal law enforcement activities fall under the leadership and guidance of the Attorney General, the criminal justice system functions as an interconnected network of federal, state and local law enforcement, and federal and state judges and courts. Each official and officer in this system takes no oath to any elected official, but instead to upholding the law, and the constitution. The decision to charge someone with a crime and bring the full weight of prosecutorial power must always be nonpartisan, and never borne of retribution, ambition or malice. Although selection of prosecutors and judges often involves political affiliation and political processes, those selections must be made in a way that brings confidence that justice will be administered without regard to politics. Americans should demand that the Justice Department be led by an Attorney General of sufficient qualifications who has been subject to the rigor and legitimacy of a Senate confirmation. Above all, our national leaders and political partisans of all stripes must remember that we depend upon our Department of Justice to act in a fair and independent manner and with a constant eye on the rule of law. That department is not the law firm of the chief executive or any political appointee but, instead, is the representative of all the people and the abiding institutions of America.
Finally, no person is above the law. Lawyers can and will argue whether the mechanics of the criminal justice system can reach the highest office, and the details of who in government is subject to what legal process. Regardless of how the courts might resolve these types of questions, the constitution provides a system for removing corrupt officials from federal office. In any case, whether an inquiry as to removal from office derives from the current set of far-reaching investigations or otherwise, the exercise of this authority does not create a constitutional crisis; instead, it is an exercise of constitutional design. We face the new year not without some apprehension, because we know that our institutions will be tested. But we have confidence in them, especially if our national leaders, as well as our citizenry, firmly are guided by our constitution and the rule of law.
Shattered Norms
As I’ve written about extensively for years, the extremist ideology of Trump & his merry band of Trumpeter fan base are real threats to our constitutional democracy, with their media echo complicit in spreading the deception & insanity. Living inside their alternative facts bubble full of lies, distortions & exaggerations, that far-right world is defiling behavioral norms & standards of decency as explained in this article pulled from political-scientists-explain-how-trump-and-a-radicalized-gop-pose-a-long-term-threat-to-democracy:
President Donald Trump and a radicalized Republican Party are destroying political norms — and risking long-term destruction of democracy, according to a pair of Harvard University political scientists. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, authors of the new book “How Democracies Die,” said the GOP has radicalized as the electorate grew larger and more diverse — which has left Republicans with a shrinking base that once enjoyed unquestioned dominance. “The parties are now divided by race and religion,” the authors said in a promotional interview. “This is a big deal. Partisan differences aren’t focused just on taxes and spending anymore; they now encompass our identities and culture. And, crucially, the Republican Party has become the political home for white Protestants — a majority ethnic group in decline. This is the underlying source of the party’s radicalization.”
Those GOP voters have become angrier and more anxious as their influence has diminished, the authors said, and that has pushed their party toward the type of anti-democratic extremism seen in North Carolina, for example. “The state GOP has sought to avoid defeat ‘by any means necessary,’ including radical gerrymandering, voter suppression, court packing, and, after losing the governorship in 2016, a last-minute legislative session that passed a series of measures to weaken incoming governor Roy Cooper’s power,” said Levitsky and Ziblatt. “These sorts of institutional shenanigans seem to have become a permanent feature of North Carolina’s politics, which at times makes it look a bit like Ecuador, Peru, or other fragile democracies. We fear that this may be the direction in which national politics is heading.”
House Republicans adopted a “win at any cost” mentality under former House speaker Newt Gingrich in the mid-1990s, and the authors said that has prevented them from checking Trump’s authoritarian instincts. “In violating so many norms so frequently and so egregiously, he has expanded the bounds of acceptable political behavior,” Levitsky and Ziblatt said. “Behavior that was once considered unthinkable in American politics is becoming commonplace. Perhaps even more important, Trump is attacking fundamental norms: ones that directly affect our democracy, such as respecting the press, respecting election results, and not lying to the public.”
Those violations can become contagious, the authors warned, not just within Trump’s own party but among his opponents, as well. “When a politician receives applause when threatening the press, other like-minded politicians are encouraged to do the same,” Levitsky and Ziblatt said. “In this way, a political system, sustained by shared standards of what is acceptable, can begin to deteriorate.” “But this is not the end of it,” they added. “As language becomes more extreme, the opponents of demagogues grow frightened and feel compelled to respond in kind. A tit-for-tat extremism can be unleashed. The results are not good.”
Evangelicals Find A New King
I often refer to the president’s support from his Trumpeter base as a cult, & posted below is chronicled the adventures of one of his fawning cult leaders. As a long-time evangelical myself, the hypocrisy & moral duplicity now emanating from some of our church leaders & among the flock disturb me greatly. It’s up to those of us within the faith to call them out. With the world now noticing the obvious conflicts, we can see the way others are now viewing the faith while young people are fleeing the church: The-Christian-Right-could-be-irrelevant-by-2024-EXvangelicals-are-working-toward-it. We had plenty to say about Falwell Jr. in our previous part 2 post, but here’s some more from the last part to the article evangelicals-infallible-new-faith-gospel-trump:
Falwell’s flawed exegesis is comically absurd, but its implications are profoundly unfunny. While the Liberty University president purports to be an evangelical leader, his statements are in total contradiction to Christian truth. This isn’t just benign confusion: This is heresy. And, like many heretics, Falwell and his fellow evangelical Trump apologists are on their way to founding a new religion, one in direct conflict with the old. This new religion doesn’t have much to do with Christ at all. Instead, it centers Trump as savior above any other god. A disconcerting number of self-professed Christians have transitioned from the traditionally “evangelical” ambitions of spreading the gospel and forming a personal relationship with Jesus to spreading the gospel of wealth creation and fighting the “radical left.” National identity is what ties this body of believers together, and “the wall” has become its icon of hope, pushing the cross to the side.
By now, we’re all familiar with the statistic that 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump in 2016, and we know that conservative evangelicals remain the bedrock of his now-crumbling support. Writers from this order have cooked up an entire “Spiritual Biography” of Trump, and every new failing is transmogrified into cause for celebration. Falwell’s conversion to the religion of Trump isn’t new, nor is this new faith’s continued growth. But its ramifications are becoming more apparent over time. We’ve already seen Trump grow more obstinate in an attempt to keep faith with his new believers. In the past two weeks alone, two children have died as a result of border control brinkmanship, and the government shutdown is persisting at the expense of many in need. It’s all too easy to imagine Trump’s supporters providing enough of a cause to run the entire country aground and then to justify the collapse as necessary.
Of course, not all American Christians have signed on. Many have repudiated this new theology and are even rejecting the label of evangelical to further distance themselves from its new associations with the president. They’ve taken the advice of the Apostle Paul, who advised early Christians to admonish heretics at least twice, but then after that “have nothing to do with them.” Yet this approach makes it even clearer that the alternative dogma has solidified and that its adherents are fully convinced. Near the end of his interview, Falwell was asked if there was anything that Trump could do to endanger his support from evangelical leaders. His confident answer? “No.” That’s what you call faith. But it’s definitely not Christian.
Press Secretary Raked Over the Coals
Chris Wallace gave the Fox audience a healthy dose of truth-telling in calling out the lies of Huckabee-Sanders. Team Trump has at the centerpiece of their scare tactics the claim thousands of terrorists were caught trying to cross our southern border. No Sarah, that is not where they were stopped. The action is at the airports, not the Mexican border! And Pence just trotted out that same easily disproved argument. Stats actually show more known terrorists have crossed our northern border than the southern border.
We’re not even surprised anymore about the administration’s constant lying, because we’ve come to expect it. We’re so numb to it, I hope we don’t just throw up our hands & start accepting the lies we know are coming. Chronic lying should never be considered standard fare coming out of the White House, so we need to keep calling them out. As to not exceed our limit on live links, you could search for any of these articles that disclose how Wallace called out Sanders:
independent/sarah-sanders-wall-trump-border-fox-news-video-chris-wallace-fact-check-terrorists
huffingtonpost/fox-news-chris-wallace-sarah-huckabee-sanders
huffingtonpost/6-not-4000-immigrants-detained-on-terror-list-as-sanders-claimsreport
newsweek/fox-news-pushes-back-trump-justification-building-wall
gq/fox-news-huckabee-sanders-immigrant-bs
thehill/fox-newss-chris-wallace-shuts-down-sarah-sanders-on-claims-about-terrorists-at
salon/fox-news-host-blasts-sarah-huckabee-sanders-for-lying-about-terrorists-at-the-southern-border
mediaite/foxs-chris-wallace-totally-busted-sarah-sanders-sunday-heres-how-fox-news-covered-it-monday
mediaite/cnns-brian-stelter-applauds-chris-wallace-for-tough-interview-with-sarah-sanders
dailykos/Lying-yet-again-Sarah-Huckabee-Sanders-gets-her-clock-cleaned-by-Fox-News-Chris-Wallace
washingtonpost/kirstjen-nielsens-illogical-tweetstorm-about-terrorists-border
washingtonpost/no-one-trump-administration-has-any-credibility-left
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