This video was published two weeks ago, on Wednesday May 27, 2020.
Friday, June 12, 2020
‘We Have Capitalism for the Poor and Socialism for the Rich’
This video was published two weeks ago, on Wednesday May 27, 2020.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
‘UPRISING: The Democratic Party Exists To Co-Opt & Kill Authentic Change’
This piece, by Caitlin Johnstone, was not a planned blog topic.
It came to my attention the night before this posting date; so, I chose to make it a topic.
Link:
UPRISING: The Democratic Party Exists To Co-Opt & Kill Authentic Change
A Bonus: This piece by Black Agenda Report’s Glen Ford.
Link:
Monday, June 8, 2020
‘Obama, Biden And Democratic Party Desperately Try To Co-Opt Protest…’
Jamarl Thomas had a video, last week, which speaks to some of what I took into consideration following the murder of George Floyd by cops in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It is about the Democratic Party inserting itself into the protests.
Thursday, June 4, 2020
‘The Treason of the Ruling Class’
On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, The Jimmy Dore Show welcomed guest Chris Hedges.
Jimmy Dore mentioned Hedges’s new piece, in Common Dreams, and here is the link:
The Treason of the Ruling Class
Monday, June 1, 2020
‘The Blue Plague and Black Death’
Last week, Black Agenda Report’s Glen Ford wrote about George Floyd’s murder by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Link:
The Blue Plague and Black Death
Friday, May 29, 2020
If We Are, Indeed, in a Realigning Period Favoring the Democratic Party…
My last topic, “Realigning Elections for U.S. President,” addressed past periods in which the presidency became realigned to a given political party for 32 to 36 years.
I mentioned that Election 2020, if it switches the White House party from the Republican to the Democratic column, will confirm that we are indeed in a period, favoring the Democrats, which began in 2008. (That the party will have won three of four cycles and, come Election 2024, will move up from four to five—a parallel with the 1968 Republicans going from at least 1968 to 1984.)
In the past realigning periods, there were a few special states that performed like bellwethers during these realigning periods. I will take a moment to cite the ones which applied.
☑ 1860–1892—Republican: No state voted with the winner in all 9 cycles. The closest was Indiana. It voted with the winner in 8 of 9 cycles and backed 1876 U.S. Popular Vote winner Samuel Tilden. So, without fully penalizing states which sided with popular-vote winners, Indiana was good for 8.50 of 9.
☑ 1896–1928—Republican: New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Ohio were carried in all 9 cycles. (The latter two have, so far in history, carried for all Republican winners.)
☑ 1932–1964—Democratic: Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Texas backed all winners. (At the time, Texas had carried for all Democratic winners.)
☑ 1968–2004—Republican: Two states with impeccable reputations as bellwethers, Ohio and Missouri, carried in all. So did neighboring states Tennessee and Kentucky.
If we can count 2008, to an unknown point, this period can look for possibilities in six states for being the most reliably carried.
☑ 2008–20xx—Democratic: Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin were carried in 2008 and 2012 (for Democrat Barack Obama) and in 2016 (for Republican Donald Trump). Election 2020 is pending. So are future elections which, if we are indeed in a period in which the presidency is realigned to the Democrats, this can go to, say, 2040 or 2044.
Congratulations to these states’ records! (And to those going forward. My home state is on the list.)
Going on the premise that Election 2008 ushered in a presidential realigning period favoring the Democrats, I ask, “Who will they help?”
The parties do realign.
The 1896 Republicans realigned into a Party for Big Business. (They courted business for elections.)
The 1932 Democrats realigned into what was considered a Party for the People—delivering during that period on Social Security, Medicare, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The 1968 Republicans realigned by combining their servitude to Big Business with overhauling the tax system that is now weighing down the have-nots here in this new decade of the 2020s.
What are the 2008 Democrats going to do?
What would the Democrats become known for, especially with and following the coronavirus pandemic, during this realigning period that would be so favorable for their party?
Today’s Democrats who hold any meaningful power—presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden; the party’s leader in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer; and U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi—are influenced by the 1968 Republican realigning period of the presidency and its biggest standout, Ronald Reagan. (They are corporatists!)
Given the fact that I cannot answer what will actually happen…a conclusion that may be made is that the United States, with whatever it will get in leadership, but most especially in policies, will finally move in a healthier direction (for the nation and its people)—or it will get taken apart more and more with each coming and passing year.
I supposed the one thing guaranteed is that this will be interesting.
☑ 1896–1928—Republican: New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Ohio were carried in all 9 cycles. (The latter two have, so far in history, carried for all Republican winners.)
☑ 1932–1964—Democratic: Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Texas backed all winners. (At the time, Texas had carried for all Democratic winners.)
☑ 1968–2004—Republican: Two states with impeccable reputations as bellwethers, Ohio and Missouri, carried in all. So did neighboring states Tennessee and Kentucky.
If we can count 2008, to an unknown point, this period can look for possibilities in six states for being the most reliably carried.
☑ 2008–20xx—Democratic: Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin were carried in 2008 and 2012 (for Democrat Barack Obama) and in 2016 (for Republican Donald Trump). Election 2020 is pending. So are future elections which, if we are indeed in a period in which the presidency is realigned to the Democrats, this can go to, say, 2040 or 2044.
Congratulations to these states’ records! (And to those going forward. My home state is on the list.)
Going on the premise that Election 2008 ushered in a presidential realigning period favoring the Democrats, I ask, “Who will they help?”
The parties do realign.
The 1896 Republicans realigned into a Party for Big Business. (They courted business for elections.)
The 1932 Democrats realigned into what was considered a Party for the People—delivering during that period on Social Security, Medicare, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The 1968 Republicans realigned by combining their servitude to Big Business with overhauling the tax system that is now weighing down the have-nots here in this new decade of the 2020s.
What are the 2008 Democrats going to do?
What would the Democrats become known for, especially with and following the coronavirus pandemic, during this realigning period that would be so favorable for their party?
Today’s Democrats who hold any meaningful power—presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden; the party’s leader in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer; and U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi—are influenced by the 1968 Republican realigning period of the presidency and its biggest standout, Ronald Reagan. (They are corporatists!)
Given the fact that I cannot answer what will actually happen…a conclusion that may be made is that the United States, with whatever it will get in leadership, but most especially in policies, will finally move in a healthier direction (for the nation and its people)—or it will get taken apart more and more with each coming and passing year.
I supposed the one thing guaranteed is that this will be interesting.
Monday, May 25, 2020
Realigning Elections for U.S. President
If Election 2020 switches the White House from Republican to Democratic, it will mark the third of four United States presidential election cycles which was won by that party.
Walter Dean Burnham, a professor, political scientist, and author who was born in 1930, came up with a theory on Realigning Elections dealing with critical elections especially in United States history. (Source: Wikipedia — Walter Dean Burnham.)
There have been particular points, typically spaced out between 30- to 40-year periods, in which some event—I will use the word catalyst—caused the incumbent party to lose, I shall say faith, in the voting electorate. A given presidential election that marked the turning point. A critical election. A new realigning election. (Source: Wikipedia — Realigning election.)
What a realigning election does, at the level of U.S. President, is usher in a new period in which the party that benefits becomes dominant for an outstanding majority of election cycles. This has certainly applied to the United States’s current two-party system—the Republican and Democratic political parties—since the former first prevailed in the realigning presidential election of 1860.
Realigning Elections for the Republicans and Democrats
☑ 1860–1892—Republican: Noted by Wikipedia as being the election that was the catalyst of the American Civil War, the Republicans won their first United States presidential election, with Abraham Lincoln, in 1860. The party won 7 of 9 cycles (1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, and 1888). The out party, the Democratic Party, won 2 of 9 with non-consecutive wins in 1884 and 1892 by Grover Cleveland.
☑ 1896–1928—Republican: The Panic of 1893 struck on the watch of Democrat Grover Cleveland, delivering Congress in the 1894 midterm elections to the Republicans. The 1896 election, with William McKinley, saw the beginning of the party eventually having won 7 of 9 cycles (1896, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1920, 1924, and 1928). The out party, the Democratic Party, won 2 of 9 cycles with wins in 1912 and 1916 by Woodrow Wilson.
☑ 1932–1964—Democratic: The stock market crash and the Great Depression struck on the watch of Republican Herbert Hoover, who clearly did not know how to deal with it. This delivered a blow to his re-election as the nation shifted 35 percentage points, from 1928 to 1932, and turned 34 states blue to deliver 42 (of a then-48) states to Franklin Roosevelt. He ushered in a New Deal and a Democratic realignment covering the 1930s and 1940s and the first two cycles of the 1960s. The party won the 7 of 9 cycles of 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1960, and 1964. The out party, the Republican Party, won 2 of 9 cycles in 1952 and 1956 by Dwight Eisenhower.
☑ 1968–2004—Republican: The Vietnam War—with its increasing unpopularity and its dividing the party—took its toll on Democrat Lyndon Johnson. Early primaries states showed he was weak. And on March 31, 1968, Johnson announced his decision to not run for possible re-election. The party’s crackup at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, Illinois, eventually led to their defeat in November. A Republican pickup of the presidency for Richard Nixon was the start of the party winning 7 of 10 cycles. It was a matter of timing which extended the number of cycles by one. The Republicans won in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, 2000, and 2004. The out party, the Democratic Party, won the remaining 3 cycles with a sole term won in 1976 by Jimmy Carter and the two terms won in 1992 and 1996 by Bill Clinton.
Those are not a complete list. I did not cite 1800 and 1828 because, in this current period, we have the exact two political parties—Republican and Democratic—which dates back to that example of 1860. And from 1860 to the previous election cycle, 2016, were a period of 156 years and 40 election cycles. The previous, presidential realigning election period cutoff may have been 2004. And this had many, back when we approaching and into Election 2008, thinking that that year’s election would move to a new period of realigning the presidency to the Democrats. So, let us further consider:
☑ 2008–20xx—Democratic: The Iraq War and the Economic Meltdown of 2008 were on the watch of the term-limited Republican-affiliated U.S. president George W. Bush. There was no doubt, by anyone with a sense of history, the presidency was going to switch in 2008 from Republican to Democratic. Barack Obama became the first person who is black to get elected U.S. president. In 2012, he won re-election. 2016 was a Republican pickup for Donald Trump. And, as we are five-plus months from Election Day, Trump is vulnerable to becoming the 11th president who, in his efforts to win re-election, may become unseated. What would be the catalyst is the coronavirus pandemic having struck on the watch of Trump. On the watch of U.S. president who is affiliated with the Republican Party. COVID–19 is devastating. Devastating with fatalities. Devastating with the lives in continues to put at risk. It is also devastating on the economy, at least here in the United States, which includes massive unemployment. Can Trump recover from job-approval numbers suggesting he is good for the 43- to 46-percent range—when the two-party vote for U.S. President typically combines for 97 to 99 percent—and suggests he could lose the U.S. Popular Vote by the range of –5 to –13 percentage points? That would suggest a 2020 Democratic pickup of the presidency, for presumptive nominee Joe Biden, of 27 to 35 states which means, for Trump, carrying between 15 to 23 states. If Trump does not win re-election, it would be hard to make the argument that Election 2008 did not mark the beginning of a new period of realigning the presidency to the Democrats.
When reading the topic of Realigning Elections, it does not cover only United States presidential elections. But, where are at right now—in late-May 2020—cannot be answered factually as to whether we are in a Democratic presidential realignment until the arrival and passing of Election Day, November 3, 2020.
My sense is this: If Election 2020 ends up switching U.S. President from Republican to Democratic, you can look back to a 40-year parallel. 1968 to 1980 saw three of four cycles won by the Republicans. 2008 to 2020 would become three of four cycles won by the Democrats.
Also worth considering: Election 1984 was a Republican hold, for Ronald Reagan. If Election 2020 becomes a Democratic pickup, it is more likely than not that Election 2024 would end up a Democratic hold. So, take those five cycles of 1968 to 1984, and note that four were won by the Republicans. Run a 40-year parallel, and consider the cycles of 2008 to 2024, and note that four of five would become won by the Democrats.
If what I am pointing out here, in this period of time, manifests...I would have to reach the conclusion that, beginning in 2008, we are in a presidential realigning period favoring the Democratic Party.
Walter Dean Burnham, a professor, political scientist, and author who was born in 1930, came up with a theory on Realigning Elections dealing with critical elections especially in United States history. (Source: Wikipedia — Walter Dean Burnham.)
There have been particular points, typically spaced out between 30- to 40-year periods, in which some event—I will use the word catalyst—caused the incumbent party to lose, I shall say faith, in the voting electorate. A given presidential election that marked the turning point. A critical election. A new realigning election. (Source: Wikipedia — Realigning election.)
What a realigning election does, at the level of U.S. President, is usher in a new period in which the party that benefits becomes dominant for an outstanding majority of election cycles. This has certainly applied to the United States’s current two-party system—the Republican and Democratic political parties—since the former first prevailed in the realigning presidential election of 1860.
Realigning Elections for the Republicans and Democrats
☑ 1860–1892—Republican: Noted by Wikipedia as being the election that was the catalyst of the American Civil War, the Republicans won their first United States presidential election, with Abraham Lincoln, in 1860. The party won 7 of 9 cycles (1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, and 1888). The out party, the Democratic Party, won 2 of 9 with non-consecutive wins in 1884 and 1892 by Grover Cleveland.
☑ 1896–1928—Republican: The Panic of 1893 struck on the watch of Democrat Grover Cleveland, delivering Congress in the 1894 midterm elections to the Republicans. The 1896 election, with William McKinley, saw the beginning of the party eventually having won 7 of 9 cycles (1896, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1920, 1924, and 1928). The out party, the Democratic Party, won 2 of 9 cycles with wins in 1912 and 1916 by Woodrow Wilson.
☑ 1932–1964—Democratic: The stock market crash and the Great Depression struck on the watch of Republican Herbert Hoover, who clearly did not know how to deal with it. This delivered a blow to his re-election as the nation shifted 35 percentage points, from 1928 to 1932, and turned 34 states blue to deliver 42 (of a then-48) states to Franklin Roosevelt. He ushered in a New Deal and a Democratic realignment covering the 1930s and 1940s and the first two cycles of the 1960s. The party won the 7 of 9 cycles of 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1960, and 1964. The out party, the Republican Party, won 2 of 9 cycles in 1952 and 1956 by Dwight Eisenhower.
☑ 1968–2004—Republican: The Vietnam War—with its increasing unpopularity and its dividing the party—took its toll on Democrat Lyndon Johnson. Early primaries states showed he was weak. And on March 31, 1968, Johnson announced his decision to not run for possible re-election. The party’s crackup at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, Illinois, eventually led to their defeat in November. A Republican pickup of the presidency for Richard Nixon was the start of the party winning 7 of 10 cycles. It was a matter of timing which extended the number of cycles by one. The Republicans won in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, 2000, and 2004. The out party, the Democratic Party, won the remaining 3 cycles with a sole term won in 1976 by Jimmy Carter and the two terms won in 1992 and 1996 by Bill Clinton.
Those are not a complete list. I did not cite 1800 and 1828 because, in this current period, we have the exact two political parties—Republican and Democratic—which dates back to that example of 1860. And from 1860 to the previous election cycle, 2016, were a period of 156 years and 40 election cycles. The previous, presidential realigning election period cutoff may have been 2004. And this had many, back when we approaching and into Election 2008, thinking that that year’s election would move to a new period of realigning the presidency to the Democrats. So, let us further consider:
☑ 2008–20xx—Democratic: The Iraq War and the Economic Meltdown of 2008 were on the watch of the term-limited Republican-affiliated U.S. president George W. Bush. There was no doubt, by anyone with a sense of history, the presidency was going to switch in 2008 from Republican to Democratic. Barack Obama became the first person who is black to get elected U.S. president. In 2012, he won re-election. 2016 was a Republican pickup for Donald Trump. And, as we are five-plus months from Election Day, Trump is vulnerable to becoming the 11th president who, in his efforts to win re-election, may become unseated. What would be the catalyst is the coronavirus pandemic having struck on the watch of Trump. On the watch of U.S. president who is affiliated with the Republican Party. COVID–19 is devastating. Devastating with fatalities. Devastating with the lives in continues to put at risk. It is also devastating on the economy, at least here in the United States, which includes massive unemployment. Can Trump recover from job-approval numbers suggesting he is good for the 43- to 46-percent range—when the two-party vote for U.S. President typically combines for 97 to 99 percent—and suggests he could lose the U.S. Popular Vote by the range of –5 to –13 percentage points? That would suggest a 2020 Democratic pickup of the presidency, for presumptive nominee Joe Biden, of 27 to 35 states which means, for Trump, carrying between 15 to 23 states. If Trump does not win re-election, it would be hard to make the argument that Election 2008 did not mark the beginning of a new period of realigning the presidency to the Democrats.
When reading the topic of Realigning Elections, it does not cover only United States presidential elections. But, where are at right now—in late-May 2020—cannot be answered factually as to whether we are in a Democratic presidential realignment until the arrival and passing of Election Day, November 3, 2020.
My sense is this: If Election 2020 ends up switching U.S. President from Republican to Democratic, you can look back to a 40-year parallel. 1968 to 1980 saw three of four cycles won by the Republicans. 2008 to 2020 would become three of four cycles won by the Democrats.
Also worth considering: Election 1984 was a Republican hold, for Ronald Reagan. If Election 2020 becomes a Democratic pickup, it is more likely than not that Election 2024 would end up a Democratic hold. So, take those five cycles of 1968 to 1984, and note that four were won by the Republicans. Run a 40-year parallel, and consider the cycles of 2008 to 2024, and note that four of five would become won by the Democrats.
If what I am pointing out here, in this period of time, manifests...I would have to reach the conclusion that, beginning in 2008, we are in a presidential realigning period favoring the Democratic Party.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)