That Kennedy Kid.
I'll refrain from reviewing Donald Trump's State of the Union speech last night. To be honest with you I slept through the entire thing and was only able to see it early this morning. As expected, it was filled with enough lies and distortions to make it mildly interesting. The thing that really stood out was when he claimed that immigrants are legally able to bring as many of their relatives over as they like. Of course, that isn't even remotely close to being true. He took credit for a lot of things he had no business taking credit for. Basically he is riding on the coattails of Barack Obama. A lot of folks are calling the speech a "success", which is true in a way. The fact that he did not make a total screaming fool of himself is something to be noted, I guess. Had any other president made a similar speech it would be blasted as a complete failure. We've set a low bar for this president. What I would like to focus on today is the Democratic response to the speech as delivered by Joseph P. Kennedy III.
A lot of people this afternoon are making a lot of noise about a possible Kennedy candidacy in 2020. I am a bit ambivalent about this. I am of the belief that (with the obvious exception of John Adams) political dynasties occupying the Executive Mansion is not really what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they put together this new experiment in governance. If Donald Trump hadn't won the Republican nomination nearly two years ago, it's a good bet that Jeb Bush would be sitting in the Oval Office at this moment. Three Bushes in a single generation would have been three Bushes too many. But conceding the fact that this Kennedy was born seventeen years after the last one left the White House on November 22, 1963, I'm willing to cut the guy a bit of slack. At least his name isn't Bush - or Clinton.
Is he too young to be seeking the job? Technically he's not - although it does make me feel almost elderly when I consider that he was born a mere two months before John Lennon died. Can you imagine? The Constitution clearly states that a president must be no younger than thirty-five. If Joe Kennedy goes for the big prize in three years - and happens to win it - he will be forty years old when he takes the oath of office on January 20, 2021. That's three years younger than Great Uncle Jack was when he became president in 1961; two years younger than Theodore Roosevelt was when he became chief-executive in September of 1901 upon the assassination of William McKinley. This would make him the youngest serving president in history - fairly young, true, but still old enough to handle the job.His response to the Donald's speech last night was impressive enough. As soon as he was finished, the right wing SCREAM MACHINE went into overdrive, claiming that the congressman had been drooling throughout. When I noticed the small, shiny bit of moisture on the left side of his mouth, I knew in an instant that those knuckleheads would make an issue of it. True to form, they did. The Kennedy camp is claiming that it was merely a case of lip balm that was hastily applied before he went on. That would make sense. Had it been saliva on his face, it would have dried up in a matter of minutes. It was visible for the entire address, which lasted for nearly fifteen minutes. Nice try.
Joe Kennedy is a smart guy. That he has an abundance of good ideas is another thing in his favor. Would he be my ideal candidate? Certainly not. But I've lived long enough to finally realize that my ideal candidate is never going to come my way. Unless they find a way to resuscitate Franklin D. Roosevelt I'm destined for the wilderness. Joe Kennedy is a candidate I could live with - unlike the candidate the Democrats came up with in 2016. This morning, someone accused me of being a sexist in my opposition to Ms. Clinton's run for the White House. Had Elizabeth Warren sought the nomination I would have been one-hundred percent in the tank for her. Hillary was - and is - a plutocrat, more comfortable with the Wall Street types than with real, working Americans. In this respect, young Joe Kennedy fits the bill perfectly. And the fact that he is the most telegenic politician since his great uncle over half a century ago won't hurt him in the least. His act plays well on the tube. The fact of the matter is that, thanks to television, we are doomed forever to electing style over substance.. Joe Kennedy seems to possess both as far as I can tell.Will he walk the walk? We shall see.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
SUGGESTED VIEWING:
Here's a YouTube link to watch Joe Kennedy's response to Trump's speech late last night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwnDMahSwNI
The kid did pretty good.
posted by Tom Degan @ 2:33 PM
36 comments
36 Comments:
"I am of the belief that political dynasties occupying the Executive Mansion is not really what the Fathers had in mind when they put together this new experiment in governance."
I'm sure Adams (one of the founding fathers) would disagree. I agree that the Bush's and Clinton's have held power much to long in American politics and I don't think it was a mistake to limit the presidency to two terms after Roosevelt.
I totally agree with your evaluation of Mrs. Clinton and she will probably go down in history as one of Americans biggest political losers. The Democrats just don't get it, about her. She even lost to a demagogue like Trump!
It's certainly time to turn high political office over to a new generation. I liked Ike, but it was time for his generation to move on and Kennedy won. It was a close election and we could have had president Nixon in 1961, which probably would have been a better president Nixon than the president Nixon we got in 1972. Fate is a funny thing and we are luck we got president Kennedy and sad that we lost him so young.
I'll reserve my opinion about Mr. Kennedy, it's just to early to say, but he does impress like no other Democratic politician out there today.
I wasn't aware that the young Kennedy was even in congress. That suggests to me that he has not done much of anything of importance thus far. That said, he would probably make an ideal Democrat Presidential nominee. After all, they elected Obama without him having accomplished anything while serving in the Senate either. Perhaps the Nobel committee should start on Mr. Kennedy's prize in another year or so too!
lies and distortions You mean like the unemployment for blacks and Hispanics now after one year in office is at lowest ever recorded?
African-American unemployment hit a record low in December. The unemployment rate for black Americans is currently 6.8 percent.
How did it get there?
Let’s look.
April 2010 – 16.6
March 2013 – 13.0
March 2015- 10.0
January 2017 - 7.8
Obama saw the rate fall from 16.6 to 7.8%
That would be a drop of 8.8%!
Trump saw it go down 1 point, 1 point, and crows like he did it all. Now his stupid shills crow along with him.
And we’re supposed to give Dear Leader credit for a home run when he started on third base and walked in?
Aren’t they great?
And did Major"lies and distortions"major know this fact?
Average Monthly Job Creation:
2014 – 250,000
2017 – 171,000
Hey clucky, Thank you for admitting Obama was a great President.
Trump had NOTHING to do with Black unemployment, anymore than he has anything to do with the growing economy. he's just taking credit for the work of others like he always does.
And Paul, how is a former First lady,(8 years) Senator,(8 years) Sec of State (4 years) and the WINNER of the 2016 popular vote (by 3 MILLION) a "political loser"? Can you explain that?
She lost to Obama after being considered a shoe in. She lost to Trump after being considered a shoe in, and losing to Trump is just embarrassing.
Chuck, the Houston Astros won the World Series during the demagogue's first year as president. Was he responsible for that also?
Or the solar eclipse in August?
What about the tremendous increase in violent crime in Baltimore during 2017? Can we place blame on Trump for this?...along with the aborhorent police corruption in that city? Can we give "credit" to the demagogue in the White House for this, also?
Chuck, do you have any idea what the phrase, "cause-and-effect", means? I honestly don't think so.
I'm glad you wrote what you did on dynasties. In the last election I didn't vote for HRC since I was not in favor of dynasties regardless of gender. HRC was a disaster and so was her adultering husband. Genius? I don't think either of them were.
And it was really terrific when these 2 Harley guys pulled up next to me with "Lock Her Up" stickers on their brain buckets. I'm not registered with either party but a criminal is a criminal. Regardless of gender.
Obama's numbers are the result of the work of GWB. "cause-and-effect", works both ways.
So not clapping for the lowest numbers on record is because those numbers were caused by Obama? Makes sense.
News flash...President Trump is not the mayor of Baltimore.
Watching the latest and newest Kennedy make his debut I couldn't help wondering if the car in the back ground was the Chappaquiddick Kennedy Model.
Major "Lies and Distortions" has lost the debate due to lack of evidence. Some things never change.
As Clueless notes, "a criminal is a criminal".
Again I'm left with no idea of what the crime was. Everybody who wants to lock her has failed to cite any criminal statute. If you want to lock someone up without charges, based only on personal hate, then you are a clueless fascist.
"Lies and Distortions" in your mind, Dave cause it goes against you.
Enigma:
1 - Isn't it weird that in America, our flag and our culture offended so many people, but our benefits don't?
2 - How can the Federal Government ask U.S. citizens to pay back student loans, when illegal aliens are receiving a free education?
3 - Only in America are legal citizens labeled "racists" and "Nazis", but illegal aliens are called "Dreamers".
4 - Libs say, "If confiscating all guns saves just one life, it's worth it". Well, then, if deporting all illegals saves just one life, wouldn't that be worth it?
5 - I can't quite figure out how you can proudly wave the flag of another country, but consider it punishment to be sent back there.
6 - The Constitution: It doesn't need to be rewritten, it needs to be reread.
7 - William F. Buckly said: "Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other points of view, and are then shocked and offended when they discover there ARE other points of view".
8 - Joseph Sobran said: "'Need' now means wanting someone else's money. 'Greed' means wanting to keep your own. 'Compassion' is when a politician arranges the transfer
Sure, Chuck, whatever alternative facts you want to believe. ;-)
Spoiler Alert: Trump had little or no effect in reducing unemployment for African Americans -- or anybody else. He rode a rising tide, and inexcusably is taking all the credit. When the tide starts going down -- and certainly it will -- it'll be his baby.
Stay tuned! It's coming!
Paul, she didn't lose to Trump,she beat him by 3 million votes. and who said she was ever a "shoe in"?
At any rate, it just goes to show how far America will go to avoid a woman president, and THAT is the biggest tragedy of all.
And Just the facts, you are 100% correct, because had Bush not crashed the economy and been a general failure, Obama would not have had the chance to bring us back from that disaster, and only be considered a "good" president, as opposed to the GREAT one he will be remembered as.
And if you could just name one actual CRIME committed by Hillary, that would be great.
CLueless, Bill was a great President and Hillary would have been better. I guess you support the dumpster fire in office now?
As for Kennedy, your "Chappaquiddick" reference shows the complete lack of class in conservatives. I guess raping children is OK with you though huh?
JG, did you have to work at being that stupid or are you just gifted?
Republicans do not like telegenic populist Kennedy's, they took out the last three so this one better lay low, no presidential runs for him.
Woodenman, come on, sir. I expect better than that from you, my friend.
Oswald was a communist and Sirhan Sirhan was a disgruntled Palestinian that hated RFK for his support of the Jews. They hardly were Republicans.
Howie Carr
Boston Herald
By the squalid standards of his family, JoJoJo Kennedy had a successful evening in Fall River this week.
I mean, not one young woman was raped, drowned, crippled or beaten to death with a golf club. No one tried to play footsie with Adolf Hitler, crashed an airplane, died of a drug overdose, told a Barnstable cop that she was drunk, screamed “Do you know who I am?!?” or began slamming his head into a wall (Uncle Max, this means you)
To paraphrase his great-uncle JFK back in 1961:
“Ask not what your country can drool for you, ask what you can drool for your country.”
I don't think the GOP killed John Jr. He just overflew his skill level. Tragic, but not criminal. the OTHER two, however...
This "kid" seems about 20 years old, and obviously he's not. Must be that Kennedy glow. Not sold yet but I'm listening to what he has to say. He needs to change his position on legalizing marijuana, but other than that, sop far so good.
"He needs to change his position on legalizing marijuana..."
I am now getting the missing piece of information that explains Mr. Mozart to me. We already have way too many Jeff Spicolis in the country as it is. The hell with actually knowing or understanding anything to do with our nation as long as we have some tasty buds, right, dude?
Paine. That post was for Chuck, he posts a lot of outlandish things so why can't I?
Mozart said,
"Paul, she didn't lose to Trump,she beat him by 3 million votes. and who said she was ever a "shoe in"?
At any rate, it just goes to show how far America will go to avoid a woman president, and THAT is the biggest tragedy of all."
We have never elected a president in America by popular vote. You need to reread the Constitution Mozart. All the polls at the time said Hillary would beat Obama and Trump, that's a matter of fact on record, not to mention all the media hype that she was going to win both times. America gave Hillary two shots at being president, that's not avoiding making a woman president. She lost, twice, get over it. We judge presidents by accomplishments. You cannot say Hillary would have been a better president than Bill, we have no evidence of that, since she has never been president.
This makes Nixon look like as Boy Scout,
The Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign paid for a
pile of inflammatory rumors about Trump, which it then sold to the
press. The FBI—in full knowledge of this—then took the press reports to a
court as “evidence” to obtain permission to surveil the Trump campaign.
CNN: Huge Jump In Wages Due To Tax Reform (February 2, 2018)
NOT Obama, we can't blame the black guy
"Jeff Spicolis"? I don't know who that it is, but I assume it's a caricature from a dumb movie.
I suppose that's how Mr. Paine in his sheltered life learns about and judges millions of Americans.
Those dumb old cancer patients don't know what's good for them, do they? They need to listen to Mr. Paine and suffer with dignity and respect for his judgment. Or they need to be locked up, obviously. How dare anyone use a politically incorrect natural medicine, that even Nixon's commission recommend be decriminalized? Nixon wisely buried the study. He knew the evil weed was a great way to lock up those brown and black people.
Lock them up! Lock them up! At heart, it's the far Right's solution for everybody not like them. Never mind many conservatives also use cannabis. This is why most Americans support legalization. They know it is least harmful substance to medically ingest.
But as we should have learned by now, most Americans are wrong when they disagree with clear headed Trump and Mr. Paine. I'm also sure whiskey and cocaine had no adverse effects on Bush Jr. And Oxycontin kept Rush Limbaugh wise and honest. You betcha.
Trump proves a drug free brain can be more toxic, ignorant, and hate-filled than someone like Bill Maher or Whoopie Goldberg.
I do know we need more Willie Nelsons, and fewer MAGA hat wearing fools who are gullible enough to believe the worst liar ever to disgrace the White House.
Willie is far more grounded in reality than all Trumpists combined.
But Mr. Paine's occasional whiskey-addled brain is clear as a bell and cannot be questioned or caricatured. I know this because I like whiskey too. It really sharpens my thinking.
And greenhouse gasses have no effect on the atmosphere and cigarettes don't cause cancer, too, I'm told. It's good we have conservatives telling us what is good and bad for the rest of us.
Dumb movies and conservatives teach us everything we need to know about people.
A question for those who had their hearts set on Bernie Sanders becoming president. Hillary’s team (with help from the DNC and the 0bama admin) screwed Bernie out of votes in various states through voter fraud.
What makes the Bernies think the pro-Hillary FBI and DOJ wouldn’t have done the same thing to him that is being done to President Trump, had Sanders won?
Hey Clucky, HUGE drop in stock market, HUGE spike in Black unemployment, 2 point drop in approval rating, all since the State of the Union.
Can't blame the Black guy for that either.
BTW, there are to be no real benefits for any one but billionaires due to this tax cut. It will cost much more on the backside to the working class.
Nice try though, and hey...NICE Memo! heh...heh...
Hey Paul, the polls asked who people were voting for, and they voted for Hillary. The EC was designed to keep people like Trump OUT, and it was carefully manipulated through voter suppression in three key states (Who, coincidentally were the only three that refused a recount)
I CAN Say Hillary would have been a better President than Trump. No problem.
And T.Paine, your Joe Friday, "Reefer madness" attitude on marijuana is not only outdated but ignorant. Marijauna has MANY medicinal uses, not to mention being safer and healthier than alcohol or tobacco. It is not addictive.
But you go on basing your "opinions" on a comedy movie. That's how IMPORTANT discussions happen.
It's amazing which laws of the United States people are willing to follow, or ignore depending on their personal opinions, not what the law actually is.
If you feel the EC is flawed then the Constitution gives you the process to change, or eliminate it. Get busy.
Given the mathematics of the EC it's not surprising that at some point the winner of the election would lose the popular vote.
It seems Democrats have sour grapes because the Republicans had a better mathematical strategy and won the election.
I would add, that gerrymandering is something the Democrats had worked in their favor in the past and the Republicans learned that lesson and capitalized on it in the last few elections. The courts are making changes in these gerrymandered districts, but for the 2018 and 2020 elections the bias will still be with the Republicans.
Chuck, how can you be sure your CNN claim of a "huge jump in wage rates due to tax reform" isn't more "fake news"?
After all, isn't CNN one of many mainstream media outlets that the demagogue in the White House claims is "fake news"?
Mr. Paine, why are you against the complete and full legalization of cannabis?
Your stance goes against your free market, Austrian school, mentality.
"JG, did you have to work at being so stupid or are you just gifted?" ~~ Mozart1220
Mozart, please explain what I said that obviously ticked you off. I really want to know so I know how to do it again. ;-)
James, please don't give Mr. Paine's remarks a second thought. We both know he's intolerant of opposing and/or "outlandish" viewpoints. Well, except by his little buddy, Chuck. When Chuck spews his often off-topic Pinochio lies and bigotry, Mr. Paine either condones his behavior or looks the other way.
Upcoming
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is about to release his report on Steele, the FBI, and the dossier.
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General is about to release his report on the FBI and DOJ handling of the Clinton investigation. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has referred the allegations about the DOJ and FBI officials to the Inspector General for further investigation.
This should be interesting.
First, the Republican Party meme of being the party of "fiscal responsibly" was shattered with the Trump tax bill passage.
Next, with their attack of the Justice Department and the FBI, they've relinquished their tradional claim of being the party of "law and order".
I can't wait to see what they'll give up next. I'm hoping their claim to a "strong national defense", but I'm not holding my breath. ;-)
Any claim about providing decent healthcare?
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