Weekly Comments: Who do you like: Clinton, Trump, or Will Rogers?

The Republican and Democrat Conventions are over. Both Cleveland and Philadelphia escaped with little chaos, mainly because the police outnumbered protesters ten to one. Sanders delegates raised more of a ruckus than Black Lives Matter.

Here’s what I got out of the conventions. The Republicans told us all the reasons not to vote for Clinton, then the Democrats told us all the reasons not to vote for Trump.

The Democrat convention was historic. This is the first time the wife of a former governor and a former president ever won a major party’s nomination for President.  Hillary Clinton wants to be known as the “Change Maker.” Yes. She will take your dollars, and all you get in return is change. She insists we are “Stronger Together.” That’s true as long as she can hold on to the wealthiest 1 percent, who now pay 35 percent of all federal taxes. She wants them to be an even stronger participant in her togetherness program by contributing 50 or 60 percent of the total. You might think her followers in the other 99 percent group would be full of praise and admiration for the top 1 percent. Well, you would be wrong. Not a single word of thanks, or encouragement for them to make more money next year.

Nobody can figure what Donald Trump wants to be known as. In his speeches and interviews he goes off on too many tangents. We may think he wants to eliminate illegal immigration, reduce tax rates, and bring back manufacturing jobs from foreign countries. But instead of explaining details, he launches into strange comments about Russia, NATO, and Muslims in America.

Both Presidential candidates picked good running mates. Most people would agree that Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, both with experience in Congress and as a Governor, are qualified. That’s important because there’s always a chance the President cannot complete the term. If elected, Clinton could wind up in federal prison. Trump could end up in a psychiatric ward.

I read a report a few days ago that the economy was looking up. But today we learned the growth rate for the April to June quarter was an anemic 1.2 percent. No wonder 40 percent of Americans think we are still in a recession and 70 percent say the country is on the wrong track.

I’m leading up to a huge announcement, probably the biggest political news story since, well, since Thursday, when Clinton became the first woman to accept the nomination. President Obama is steering our economy down the wrong track (with Hillary assisting), and Trump is on a track that no one knows exactly where it’s headed.

So in this muddled political season, where most people dislike both candidates, and don’t trust ‘em either, I feel compelled to emerge from the mist, mount the podium, and as I did proudly in 1928, accept the nomination of the Anti-Bunk Party as their candidate for President. I am wasting no time or money coming up with a new campaign platform. If it works as well in 2016 as it did 88 years ago, it will be deemed successful, and even historic.

Below is a peek into what will follow in the next 3 months. Soon we will have a new website, and we’ll announce names of 10 to 15 outstanding folks who want consideration for Vice-President. And not a politician in the bunch.

Historic quotes from Will Rogers(in Life magazine, 1928)

This (opportunity) leaves me dazed, and if I can stay dazed I ought to make a splendid Candidate.

Every Candidate always says, ‘Why there is dozens of men (and women) that is more competent to fill this office than I am.’ Well I don’t feel that way about it at all.  For after all, it’s only the office of Candidate that I am accepting. You know it don’t take near as good a man to be a Candidate as it does to hold the office. That’s why we wisely defeat more than we elect.

I think I can accept defeat in as poor English as anyone.

There will be no effort for Sex Appeal.  Of course, if it unconsciously manifests itself, why, we can’t help it.

Killings and Chaos leading up to Conventions

The country is gearing up for two straight weeks of political conventions. The Republicans have invaded Cleveland, and Philadelphia is bracing for Democrats next week.

Meanwhile, more tragedies here and around the world. Following the killing of 5 Dallas police, protesters injured about 25 police in Minnesota and today 3 (or 4) police in Baton Rouge were killed. In Nice, France, an Islamic terrorist slaughtered close to a hundred with a truck, and a military coup (unsuccessful) in Turkey killed over 200.

I heard a TV reporter ask this question: Considering the events of the last week, which Presidential candidate would you want in charge? Well, if you like the way President Obama is handling the situations, you would prefer Clinton. On the other hand Trump will probably claim he wouldn’t have to deal with these kinds of tragedies because his policies will wipe out ISIS and other Islamic terrorists, and his unwavering support for police and law and order will put an end to the kind of anti-police protests and killings that have festered in the last few years.

A Baton Rouge police chief said “Not gun control, but changing what’s in men’s hearts,” is what is needed to stop the attacks on police.

You might think in light of recent events the protesters would have compassion and back off a bit in protesting during the Republican convention. No, the Black Lives Matter and a few others marched and blocked streets today. Unfortunately, many of these same rabble rousers will show up in Philadelphia to protest the Democrats. I heard there are 5000 police in Cleveland. Probably 4000 are there to protect protesters from other protesters. If these police maintain the peace, maybe they will all go to Philadelphia with the protesters.

Donald Trump picked Governor Mike Pence of Indiana as his Vice-President. Trump still has a bunch of prominent Republicans who are refusing to support him, including the Bush’s and Ohio Governor Kasich.

Hillary Clinton is still pondering her V-P selection. She appears to have total support of prominent Democrats and is going after Bernie Sanders’ socialist followers by promising them more free stuff.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers (on political conventions):

          “I am being paid to write something funny about this Republican Convention. That’s funny. All a fellow has to do to write something funny on a Republican Convention is just write what happened.” June, 1920

(1932 Republican Convention, June14): “The Republican convention ‘laid an egg’ here today. The house wasn’t near sold out. The loud-speaker system didn’t work and half of ‘em couldn’t hear the keynote speech. They got mad and got to leaving, but not as quick as those that was sitting near the front and could hear it.”

(The next day, June 15): The nominator “said that while our Savior had rescued the world in Biblical times from the Democrats, that Herbert Hoover was the modern Savior. In fact, he kinder gave the engineer the edge over the carpenter.”

(1932 Democrat Convention, June 26): “If this convention stopped right now two days before it starts, it’s been a better convention than the Republican one… The plan is to ‘stop’ Roosevelt, then everybody ‘stop’ each other. At a time when the Democrats should be ‘starting’, they are ‘stopping’.”

(The next day, June 27): “Why, there wasn’t an argument in a carload. Cheered everything; hissed nothing; why, it made me almost ashamed I was a Democrat. Here we have written about it, advertised it as a combat, a gigantic struggle of candidates, and conflicting platforms, and then everybody goes out kissing each other.”

(The next day, June 28): “Ah! They was Democrats today, and we was all proud of ‘em. They fought, they fit, they split, and adjourned in a dandy wave of Dissension.”

Weekly Comments: FBI investigations, encounters and equality

In election news, we finally got to the last and most critical primary for Hillary Clinton. The FBI Primary, which had been delayed for weeks, was held early Saturday morning, of a 3-day holiday weekend. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will be the vote counter, and a few days ago Bill Clinton tried to stuff the ballot box.

Secretary Clinton said she was glad to meet with the FBI voluntarily to conclude the security review. Yes, it was voluntary all right; either volunteer, or forget about ever becoming President. And it is not a security review. It is a criminal investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Like anyone accused of criminal activity, she was interrogated. Now, she may be completely innocent; we have to wait for the verdict from FBI Director Comey.

Bill Clinton’s rendezvous with the Attorney General was at the Phoenix airport. He had his plane wait on the tarmac until her government plane landed, then, after she kicked everyone off her plane, he hopped on. Now, any time Bill Clinton arranges to spend 30 minutes with a female in private, we suspect hanky-panky. But this time it was legal hanky-panky. The meeting was described as a “chance encounter.”  From now on, chance encounter will be defined as when individuals in two private planes meet secretly at a busy airport, such as for a major drug purchase, or a meeting of two lawyers who are ethically prohibited from communicating with each other.

If you see Secretary Clinton campaigning in North Carolina this week, and President Obama happens to appear with her, remember it’s just a chance encounter.

Meanwhile Donald Trump has had a few encounters, not by chance, with potential V-P running mates. Newt Gingrich, Chris Christy and Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana are included. I heard a commentator today suggest that Ohio Governor John Kasich would be the perfect running mate. Only problem is Kasich doesn’t like Trump. But on the other hand that makes him ideal to attract the millions of voters who also don’t like Trump.

The economy and job growth are hot issues. The top income earners are doing quite well, while the rest of us are kinda wondering when the Great Recession will end. Democrats want to make incomes more equal by raising tax rates. But the top ten percent already pay over seventy percent of income taxes. When you ask how much they should pay, no one will state a number. See, if they said those top earners should pay eighty percent or eighty-five percent of the total, then the other ninety percent of us feel guilty because we’re not pulling our weight. Republicans are against raising the minimum wage to $15. They claim most people now earning $8 or $9 per hour would not get $15, they would get zero because their job would be eliminated.

Great Britain voted to leave the European Union even though Prime Minister David Cameron and all the other top leaders in London (plus President Obama) wanted Britain to stay. Because of the defeat, Cameron and a few others felt compelled to resign. Will Rogers likes that about the Brits and added, “Imagine what would have happened if such a procedure had been in effect over here.” (1930)

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

 “From the record of all our previous investigations it just looks like nobody can emerge with their nose entirely clean. I don’t care who you are, you just can’t reach middle life without having done and said a whole lot of foolish things.” DT #2620, Dec. 28, 1934

“Well, this is the Fourth of July and my kids [are] popping these giant crackers. This is Calvin Coolidge’s and Georgie Cohan’s birthday. Georgie writes his country’s songs and Calvin writes its speeches.” DT #296, July 4, 1927