April 22, 2019

Despite being a Pete Buttigieg fan, I am going to go out on a limb and declare Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Why?

• He is currently leading in the Democratic polls. Trump’s numbers are mired around 37%, and dropping.

• His age is not a factor when compared to an old and clinically obese president.

• He will bring back the Obama voters, who defected to Trump. “Anyone but Hillary” will not be a factor.

• He will win the midwestern states that Hillary Clinton lost.

• He will receive overwhelming and united support from the other Democratic candidates, whose number one goal is to beat Trump

• Whatever issues he may have regarding his past will pale in comparison to Trump’s.

• His governmental experience dwarfs Donald Trump’s.

• He is a tough, blue collar guy, who can go toe-to-two with anyone.

• His family has a history of military service. Trump’s does not.

• His platform will emphasize issues that Americans care about like healthcare and the environment.

• His pick for Vice President will emphasize diversity, a stark comparison with Mike Pence.

• Republicans quietly want Trump to lose before he destroys the party, and will stay away from the ballot box.

• Russia will not be able to interfere.

• Numerous, ongoing investigations will continue to erode support for Trump.

• Trump will get nothing done in his last two years.

Joe Biden does not have to get everyone. Trump lost the popular vote in ‘16 by 3MM votes, and Democrats won the House in ‘18 by 8MM votes. Trump won by the slimmest of margins, and he has done nothing to improve his numbers. Trump’s tide is going out.

April 20, 2019

As laid out in the Mueller Report, Donald Trump, who has trumpeted his big brain, his high IQ, his academic record, and the many words he knows, claimed he could not remember more than thirty times when asked about issues involving contacts and discussions with and about Russians. How convenient? Is this what we want in a President? We either have a President who has either purposely obfuscated his written testimony because it is damning, or we have a President who can’t recall things. Either way, it is not good.

Fortunately, the majority of us will remember when the 2020 elections roll around. We will remember all of the outrages that have occurred by this President. (I have catalogued over 120 to date.) We will remember how our democratic values and institutions have been undermined and threatened. We will remember the childish behavior, the petulance, and the smallness of this President. We will remember who are friends are, and, more importantly, who are enemies are. We will not forget.

April 18, 2019

Willful blindness is a term used in law to describe a situation in which a person seeks to avoid civil or criminal liability for a wrongful act by intentionally keeping himself unaware of facts that would render him or her liable. Although the term was originally used in legal contexts, the phrase “willful blindness” has come to mean any situation in which a person intentionally turns his attention away from an ethical problem. When it comes to Russia and its meddling in the 2016 election, per the Mueller Report, Donald Trump is clearly guilty of willful blindness. He chose to look away when many of his aides, family, and supporters had multiple contacts with Russians, and chose to lie about them. He looked the other way as Russia tried to get him elected, and tear down Hillary Clinton. He ignored all of these things. He cast a blind eye. This is the text book definition of willful blindness.

April 18, 2019

The Democratic Party is eager to trot out as many candidates as possible from the Midwest because that is where many believe the pivotal battles will be waged in the 2020 Presidential election. Klobuchar, Ryan, and Buttigieg among others have already declared their candidacies. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a Mayor Pete fan. He was in my daughter’s college class. Trump won many midwestern states by the slimmest of margins, but those states had an outsized influence on the ultimate result. There is something wrong with this. Many people in Massachusetts say that their votes do not count. I am confident people in Alabama say the same thing.

The culprit is the Electoral College. The Electoral College is the political equivalent of quantum mechanics. Once a state gets to a critical mass, whether it is blue or red, there is no reason for a candidate to campaign for more votes in that state. A handful of voters in less-populated states can swing an entire state and an election. Massachusetts, as a result, can be heavily influenced by midwestern elections, which is reflected in national politics. For example, the tax cut of 2018 eliminated the tax-deductibility of state income taxes above a certain level, which helped states in the Midwest, and hurt Massachusetts.

The Electoral College favors smaller, less-populace states. The Senate is overly influenced by smaller states, and the President and the Senate control the Supreme Court nomination and approval process. There is a serious imbalance in our politics. “One man, one vote” rings a little hollow. It is time that every Massachusetts voter’s vote should count.

April 7, 2019

We can’t talk to each other anymore. That is what we here all the time. We are hopelessly divided by a virulent form of political discourse. We are no longer civil with each other. We cannot enjoy our family at the holidays. Democrats cannot be married to Republicans. Discussing politics is off the table because we don’t know how. Politicians say this is the number one problem infecting Washington today. I am as guilty as the next person. When I hear someone say something incredibly ignorant about today’s state of affairs, my first instinct is to attack. But, is that really smart or helpful? Here are some thoughts about getting our political discussions back on track.

First, make an attempt to know the facts about what you are talking about. If you don’t know, say you don’t know. Try to follow some unbiased, legitimate news sources. Don’t rely on news feeds. Identify some newspapers, TV shows, and magazines that have a history of journalistic integrity. Don’t fall for the “fake news” crap. There is good journalism out there. Read and listen critically. Do not take everything at face value. Challenge the information you are getting. Does it make sense? Can it be corroborated? Do you know where it came from? Do you know who wrote it?

When someone says something political that you disagree with, do not attack with a data dump of facts meant to bludgeon the other person to death. Simply ask, “Why do you say that?” I find that it defuses the situation, and your own emotions. Follow up with more questions designed to peel back the onion. You may discover that the person has facts that you do not, or you may find that the person is being purely emotional. Comedian Mike Birbiglia talks about his frustrations with arguing with his wife because he will tell her that she is not making an argument, and she will respond with “but that is how I feel.” You are essentially trying to come up with a set of facts you can both agree on.

Try to find common ground. Ask or say, “There must be some things regarding this issue that we can agree on. What are they?” I think you both will be surprised about the number of things you will come up with. Discuss these in detail. Then you can agree to disagree on the other issues. Recently, I got involved with a political conversation with someone I had just met socially. He brought up politics, and he made it clear he was a conservative. I mentioned that there were probably some things we could agree on, and there were. We had similar thoughts on deficit spending, and common sense, gun safety regulations. We hit a wall, however, when it came to the environment and climate change. He was a denier. Rather than go on the attack, I asked “Why?” He cited a book written by a right wing pundit. I respectfully disagreed with his assertions, but I agreed to take a look at the book. At least I knew why he believed the way he did. No amount of information was going to dissuade him. In the end, we both learned something about where each of us was coming from.

It is important to know if the other person has legitimate differences of opinion, or is being driven by emotions and prejudices? Are both of you looking for solutions to problems, or do you just want to blow things up? Are you obstructing or constructing? Do your positions leave room for moving forward?

I don’t know if this helps, but I miss the days when you could have an honest discussion with someone from the other side of the aisle. We vilify each other, and this passes for political discourse. Maybe it is not the issues that divide us? Maybe, in the era of the internet, cell phones, and social media, we have forgotten how to talk to each other?

April 6, 2019

It has finally happened. Donald Trump has turned the United States into one of his private country clubs. And, as he says, the club is “full.” There is no need to put your name on a waiting list. He will call you if there is an opening. If you want to get in, you will have to go through an extreme vetting process by the membership committee. Membership will be based on merit, social compatibility, and your ability to pay. Chances for membership will be greatly enhanced if you are from a “white” country, and not a shit hole country. At his club, cheaters, in other words, people who are trying to get into the club illegally, will not be tolerated unless the cheating occurs on the golf course, in which case it is encouraged and condoned. Membership does have its privileges.

Do not be concerned about those strange looking, dark people, who are landscaping, cooking, cleaning, and baby sitting for you. They are not club members. They work for the club, they work cheap, but their actual status is uncertain. Fortunately, they allow the club members to really enjoy the club. Where would be without them?

April 8, 2019

Attorney General Barr has apparently decided that the President’s conduct was so egregious that disclosing it by releasing the Mueller Report would do irreparable harm to the presidency and the country. He has taken it upon himself to save us from a national disaster. Thank you, Mr. Barr. Because of this, we are asked to move on for the good of the country. Where should we move to?

Repealing Obamacare? It has to wait for 2020 elections. Addressing climate change and global warming? It’s not real. Proposing reasonable gun safety measures? It’s way too soon. Tackling infrastructure? We have no money. Putting through more cuts? We have been there, and done that. Imposing more tariffs? How’s that working out? Preventing Russian interference in future elections? It never happened in the first place. Eliminating election fraud? North Carolina Republicans, you have a problem. Building the wall? Let’s go back to the Mueller Report.