Category Archives: political news

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Trump: Deport ’em all … now!

August 16, 2015 kanelis2012

Donald Trump is going to unveil his immigration reform package.

It shouldn’t take long for him to tell us his plans if he is elected president of the United States. As I understand it, the plan will look something like this:

Build a wall and then deport all the undocumented immigrants immediately.

If there is anything that resembles a centerpiece of the Trump campaign, immigration appears to fit that description. He made quite a splash regarding immigrants when he announced his candidacy in June. Mexico, he said, is “sending” criminals to the United States. Murderers, rapists and drug dealers are being sent here. “Some, I assume, are good people,” he added as an afterthought.

Trump said he plan to rescind President Obama’s executive order granting temporary amnesty for as many as 5 million illegal immigrants, which of course has drawn high praise from Republican audiences. “We will work with them. They have to go,” Trump said. “We either have a country or we don’t have a country.”

I have just a couple of thoughts regarding the Trump Immigration Reform Plan.

How much will it cost to build an impenetrable wall across our southern border? Do we have the money?

How does he intend to search for and locate every one of the undocumented immigrants who are living here? And what does he intend to do with the children of those undocumented individuals who were born in the United States and have earned U.S. citizenship just by being born in this country?

And what might Trump propose to do with those individuals who entered the country illegally but who have become successful businessmen and women?

All of this is going to require the detail, nuance and thoughtfulness that’s been missing in Trump’s campaign to date.

Then again, why should he provide it now? Those polls that show the real estate mogul leading the GOP field suggest many of the party’s primary voters don’t care about those things.

national news, political news

What has become of Hillary the Invincible?

August 15, 2015 kanelis2012

There once was a time — not that long ago — when Hillary Rodham Clinton was considered a shoo-in not just for her party’s presidential nomination, but for the office itself.

She was Hillary the Invincible. The 2016 Democratic presidential nomination was, to borrow that cliché, “hers to lose” — although I’ve never quite understood what phrase actually means.

Then came some nasty stuff.

The Benghazi matter doesn’t count. I do not consider the Benghazi tragedy to be a “scandal,” as some media blowhards on the right have called it.

Here’s what is more troubling in my view: the e-mail matter.

The former secretary of state revealed some months ago that she used her personal e-mail server to communicate with others about, um, State Department business. That disclosure troubled me when I heard and I troubles me even more now. Why? Because of reports that — as some have feared — messages sent out into the public domain contained classified information.

The Justice Department has now ordered Clinton to turn over her personal e-mail server to the spooks at DOJ, who’ll look over all the material that went out on it. But as the Washington Post’s Chis Cillizza notes: “It’s impossible to see this as anything but a bad thing for her presidential prospects.”

The trustworthiness issue is beginning now to dog the former first lady/U.S. senator/secretary of state. Is she for real? Is she authentic? Can she be trusted to tell us the truth all the time?

Yes, I am having doubts about all of that, right along with a lot of other Americans.

The Democratic field already has three other candidates seeking the party’s presidential nomination. I’m waiting to hear whether a fourth non-Clinton will jump in … that would be Vice President Joe Biden, about whom much has been written during his lengthy career in government.

He’s become the target of late-night comedians’ jokes because of his occasional gaffes. No one, though, doubts his authenticity or his motives for seeking a career in public service.

Whether he runs, though, likely might depend on how much damage gets done to Hillary Clinton’s once-seemingly invincible image.

business news, local news, political news

Millennial movement a plus for the city

August 15, 2015 kanelis2012

Win or lose when the ballots are counted this fall on Amarillo’s proposed multipurpose event center, I see a victory in at least one important sense.

This campaign will have energized a voting demographic that historically is more prone to sit these events out than take an active role.

The MPEV has captured the imagination of a group calling itself the Amarillo Millennial Movement. It comprises young people who claim they are committed to supporting the downtown Amarillo revitalization project as it’s been presented.

AMM favors the MPEV design that currently includes a ballpark for minor-league baseball. It favors the downtown project’s three tiers — which also includes a convention hotel and a parking garage. The latter two items no longer appear to be in jeopardy, as the Amarillo City Council this week approved the go-ahead on the construction.

The MPEV remains an open question. But if AMM can get itself mobilized, it hopes to persuade enough of Amarillo’s voters to support the project as it stands.

Why is this a victory for the city? Because for longer than any of us can remember, young voters as a bloc haven’t been energized enough to organize into a positive force for change. It’s not just an Amarillo phenomenon. This voter lethargy has permeated communities all across the nation.

Many of us heard the naysayers suggest that the young adults are being used. They’re puppets of some well-heeled, deep-pocketed interest group that wants this project to proceed because of some mysterious enlightened self-interest.

My reaction to that? Big deal.

Have you tried to tell a young person to do something when he or she doesn’t want to do it or they lack at least some measure of commitment to the task? Anyone who’s ever reared children into adulthood knows that is a virtual impossibility.

AMM says it wants the downtown project to proceed. It has developed a campaign logo. It is using its members’ considerable social media expertise to spread the word.

That a group of young residents would take the time to become involved in the political process is good news for an old hand — such as yours truly — who occasionally has lamented young Americans’ seeming lack of interest in civic affairs.

Once this campaign ends, it will be my hope that members of the millennial generation keep their interests high … and stay involved.

national news, political news

Turn out the lights, Gov. Perry

August 14, 2015 kanelis2012

The late “Dandy Don” Meredith would sing, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over,” whenever a team was getting blown out on Monday Night Football telecasts.

It now appears that another Texan, former Gov. Rick Perry, may need to follow that advice, according to those who say they’re in the know.

Perry is out of money. He has quit paying his campaign staff. His second run for the presidency of the United States is likely to end perhaps before the first actual Republican Party primary contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

A part of me wishes it wouldn’t end.

Perry worked quite hard in the period between his first presidential run and this one to rehabilitate his image. His first effort ended in early 2012 after the infamous GOP debate “oops” moment. This time, he was better prepared. But the primary faithful began tuning into other candidates. Indeed, there are 16 others running for the party’s presidential nomination.

Perry said this week he’s “in it to win it.” Sure he is. That’s what you expect him to say.

However, even after his blistering critique of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s bizarre pronouncements, his own well-defined message and the “retail political” skill he employs in meeting and greeting potential voters — a skill he honed to perfection while being elected to three full terms as Texas governor — he remains far back of the front tier of GOP candidates.

The winnowing of this large Republican field will begin in due course. It might be soon.

As one New Hampshire Republican said of Perry, “He is out of money and out of time.”

Is the party over? Looks like it from here.

national news, political news

Open White House race = many candidates

August 14, 2015 kanelis2012

Here’s a fact of political life in America.

When there’s no incumbent involved in a campaign, you invite all comers to seek the office that’s being vacated. Everyone, or so it seems, becomes interested in the office at stake.

Such is the case with the White House. A two-term president, Barack Obama, is prohibited from running again. He’s bowing out in January 2017. The Republican field is as full as I’ve seen it in more than four decades watching this stuff; 16 men and one woman are running on the GOP side. It’s becoming quite an entertaining spectacle — to say the very least.

The Democrats? Well, until about two, maybe three weeks ago, it seemed that Hillary Clinton had that nomination in the bag. She still is the heavy favorite.

But she’s not going to anointed as the party nominee next summer, or so it appears. Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has closed a once-huge gap. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is taking aim at Clinton, as is ex-Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee. We haven’t heard much yet from ex- Virginia U.S. Sen. Jim Webb.

But now we hear of a couple of big names — as in really big names — possibly entering the Democratic Party primary field.

One of them is Vice President Joe Biden.

The other? Get ready: It might former Vice President Albert Gore Jr.

Some media outlets are reporting that “insiders” are discussing the possibility of a Gore candidacy. My reaction? Holy crap!

He damn near was elected in 2000, winning more popular votes than George W. Bush, who was elected because he won a bare majority of electoral votes. What many folks have forgotten about that election is this: Had the vice president won his home state of Tennessee in 2000, there would have been no recount controversy in Florida, no “hanging chad” examination, no narrow Supreme Court ruling to determine who won that state’s critical electoral votes. Gore lost his home state to Bush. There you have it.

This election already is shaping as the most entertaining in at least a couple of generations. The thundering herd of Republicans is being overshadowed by a billionaire hotel mogul/entertainer/wheeler-dealer. The Democratic field is being dominated by a self-proclaimed “democratic socialist” drawing huge crowds and a former secretary of state with growing problems stemming from her use of a personal email account to conduct State Department business.

Will two men who’ve served a “heartbeat away” from the presidency now join the field?

We know that Vice President Biden is considering it. As for Al Gore? Stay tuned and hang on … maybe.

International news, political news

ISIL’s rise: It’s Obama’s fault?

August 12, 2015 kanelis2012 2 Comments

Jeb Bush is trying a remarkable misdirection play as he seeks the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016.

The former Florida governor sought in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to blame former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama on the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and, I presume, in Syria as well.

Well now. Let’s look at the record for a moment.

The Iraq War began in March 2003 when President George W. Bush launched the invasion of that country, which at the time was governed by a Sunni Muslim tyrant, the late Saddam Hussein. (Hang with me for a moment; the Sunni reference is critical.)

Americans were told by those high up in the Bush chain of command that we’d defeat the Iraqis easily and we’d be welcomed as “liberators.”

Didn’t turn out that way.

Yes, we defeated the so-called “elite” Iraqi forces. We drove Saddam from power. We caught him later in that spider hole, pulled him, jailed him, put him on trial, convicted him and then hanged him.

All of this was done on Jeb’s brother’s presidential watch.

Then came the new government. Iraqis elected a Shiite leader, who formed a Shiite government.

Oh yes. The Sunnis hate the Shiites and vice versa. The Islamic State — aka ISIL — is a Sunni cult.

Thus, ISIL was born — on President Bush’s watch.

Now, though, the next Bush who wants to be president, says it’s Obama’s fault. It’s Clinton’s fault.

Why? We didn’t maintain a sufficient troop garrison in Iraq to keep ISIL in check. I ought to mention that the Bush administration set the deadline for full withdrawal from Iraq.

Jeb Bush now says he would send troops back into Iraq, in effect restarting a war that we shouldn’t have fought in the first place. Weapons of mass destruction? Hideous chemical weapons? The threat of a “mushroom cloud”? It was bogus.

I’m not yet ready to declare that the pretext for war was concocted deliberately by the Bush administration high command.

Let’s just say for now that “faulty intelligence” isn’t much of an excuse for sending thousands of American service personnel to their death in a war designed to overthrow a sovereign leader who we had kept in check through a series of tough economic sanctions.

Jeb Bush is treading on some squishy ground whenever he mentions the words “Iraq War.”

national news, political news

Trump keeps drawing me back

August 12, 2015 kanelis2012

Donald Trump keeps reminding me that promises to consider ignoring him are hard to keep.

I said something earlier about whether I should consider imposing a moratorium on commenting on Trump’s blathering. Then I turn on the TV news talk shows I like watching and what do I see? Commentators, analysts, “strategists” from both parties and other so-called experts talking about Trump.

How can I remain silent? How can I ignore the things that have captured all these political junkies’ attention?

I cannot do it.

Trump called a press conference today, his first meeting with the media since the Fox News-sponsored joint appearance this past week.

Did he offer anything of substance? No.

Did Trump give a specific example of how he plans to create more jobs than any politician in history? No.

Did he offer any regret for the over-the-top statements he’s made about, oh, women? No.

He did, however, manage to poke fun at the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy. Interesting, yes? As Joan Walsh of Salon magazine noted in a tweet, he could have cited the political process associated with ambassadorships in general, but he chose to single out the late President Kennedy’s daughter.

But he said he adores women.

Trump said the polls are giving political cover and allowing him to keep shooting off his mouth in this careless manner.

Yes they are, Donald.

For now.

national news, political news

So long, Rick Perry … already?

August 11, 2015 kanelis2012

The money has dried up.

And in this day in American politics, you need money — I guess — to get your message out. So, with no money coming in, there’s no money to pay staffers at former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign operation.

They’ve become volunteers.

News of this development leaves strangely saddened. It’s not because I think Gov. Perry is the perfect Republican presidential candidate out there. Actually, I think I voted for him one time, when he ran for Texas agriculture commissioner — but that was in 1990 and I’ve slept some since then. The other times? For lieutenant governor and then governor? Not a chance.

My sadness comes in my desire to see him redeem himself from the disastrous 2012 GOP presidential campaign highlighted — or lowlighted, perhaps — by the infamous “oops” moment when he couldn’t name the third of three federal agencies he’d disband if he were elected president.

He came back to this campaign better prepared. But Republican hearts and minds belonged to other candidates.

“As the campaign moves along, tough decisions have to be made in respect to both monetary and time related resources,” Perry campaign manager Jeff Miller said. “Gov. Perry remains committed to competing in the early states and will continue to have a strong presence in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.”

The “strong presence” will be determined by how well Perry does in those early caucuses and primary elections. That success, of course, depends on how effective a candidate is in getting the message delivered to the voters.

No money, no message.

It doesn’t look good, no matter how you seek to spin it.

national news, political news

Perry seeks unity in primary? Good luck

August 11, 2015 kanelis2012

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is seeking a noble goal among the thundering herd of Republicans seeking to become the 45th president of the United States.

Sadly, it cannot happen.

He told a crowd of conservative activists that fellow conservatives need to unite, to speak with one voice as they campaign against the Democrats.

That’s an interesting notion being put forth by the ex-governor.

But it’s impossible.

Sixteen men and one woman are running for the GOP nomination. They’re all trying to be more conservative than everyone else. It’s a fascinating spectacle. To position themselves to the right, they necessarily have to draw distinctions and differences between themselves and the rest of this still-large field of candidates.

At the RedState Gathering in Georgia, Perry said: “I don’t believe the answer to a Democratic divider is to have a Republican divider. It’s time for leadership that repairs the breach.”

That’s the kind of “leadership” that should present itself after the candidate has been nominated to face whomever the Democratic Party nominates.

However, first things first. Republicans have to spell out their differences among themselves, just as Democrats are likely to do during their primary campaign.

You can’t be singing off the same hymnal page if you’re trying to say that you’re the best candidate out there.

national news, political news

How might Trump bow out?

August 10, 2015 kanelis2012

This might require a bit of imagination, but I’ll pose the question anyway.

How do you suppose Donald Trump is going to end his futile campaign to be nominated by the Republican Party for president of the United States?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/donald-trump-the-cringe-worthy-crossroads?cid=sm_fb_maddow

Much of the chatter now is that Trump’s latest detestable insult — delivered to Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly — has put his campaign at a “crossroads.” Does he continue on or does he start looking for a possible way to bow out?

The latest polling information suggests he hasn’t been hurt by that hideous statement about Kelly having “blood coming out of her wherever.” Kelly had asked Trump to respond to contentions that he’s a sexist. That particular statement from Trump tells us all that Kelly’s question — which she posed during this past week’s joint appearance with the 10 leading GOP candidates — was spot on.

Candidates often merely suspend their campaigns when things go badly. In this social media age, one forum might be to just put out an Internet message, post it on Twitter, or Facebook, or on some website.

Then they’re gone.

Trump? He isn’t wired that way.

My guess is that once his support begins to crater — and I believe it will — that he’ll make some kind of big show about it, blaming everyone under the sun except himself for the amazingly stupid things he has said about fellow politicians, media representatives, other GOP candidates, the president of the United States … you name it, he’s hurled an insult in every direction possible.

I’ll be waiting with bated breath. Something tells me his withdrawal from the race might be worth the price of admission all by itself.

High Plains Blogger

Category Archives: political news

Trump: Deport ’em all … now!

What has become of Hillary the Invincible?

Millennial movement a plus for the city

Turn out the lights, Gov. Perry

Open White House race = many candidates

ISIL’s rise: It’s Obama’s fault?

Trump keeps drawing me back

So long, Rick Perry … already?

Perry seeks unity in primary? Good luck

How might Trump bow out?

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