Richard French Live – * Failed Pols

I do not fault stupid people for making the stupid decision to elect Donald Trump in 2016.

I do fault smart people for making stupid decisions. These include:

1. Senators who voted to acquit Donald Trump in his no-witnesses-allowed impeachment trial, including primarily Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell:

* Impeachment of Donald Trump (2020-02-05)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Donald_Trump#Acquittal

* Mitch McConnell (2020-02-05)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell#Impeachment_trial

2. Members of the GOP who voted to disenfranchise voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – before, during, and AFTER the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol – including Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jody Hice (R–GA-10), Mo Brooks (R–AL-05), Scott Perry (R–PA-10), Josh Hawley (R–MO), and Louie Gohmert (R–TX-01).

* 2021 Storming Of The United States Capitol (2021-01-06)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol

* 2020 United States Presidential Election Electoral College Count (2021-01-06 – 2021-01-07)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election_Electoral_College_count

3. Donald Trump’s cabinet, who could have invoked the 25th Amendment to remove POTUS at any time:

* Cabinet Of Donald Trump (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Donald_Trump

4. Social media, including especially Facebook and Twitter, for allowing their social networks to be used as platforms for hate speech.

* Donald Trump On Social Media (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_on_social_media#2021

5. Mainstream media, including especially CNN (on the left) and Fox News (on the right) for not doing their jobs – asking questions until they get answers – and allowing POTUS to lie unchecked.

* Veracity Of Statements By Donald Trump (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veracity_of_statements_by_Donald_Trump

6. Lawmakers at all levels, for failing to fix bad laws and for failing to enact good laws. Changes that must be made going forward include:

Limiting POTUS power:

Executive order power must be limited.
All cabinet members (acting/interim/actual) must be confirmed by Senate.
Treaties and tariffs must be the role of Congress so that POTUS cannot engage in trade wars.
War Powers Act must be updated to limit POTUS power to deploy the military.
Special Counsel Act must be updated to make clear that POTUS cannot fire special counsel.

Writing better and new laws:

Impeachment Act of 2021, to define how impeachment is conducted, including the requirement to have witnesses.
Follow the lead of The Restatements Of The Law project (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restatements_of_the_Law) and codify major SCOTUS cases, including especially Roe v. Wade.
Fix the Census.
Fix immigration.
Fix SCOTUS processes, such as limiting appointments to 2 per POTUS with the number of SCOTUS justices fixed at the number of Federal Circuits (currently 13).
Election reform, including who is qualified to run for POTUS and that tax forms must be disclosed to do so.

Just to name a few.

Stupid people, bad laws, and lies got us into this mess.

Smart people, good laws, and the truth can get us out of this mess.

LAW >> MAN.

#FailedPols
https://www.failblog.com/

The August national Quinnipiac University poll finds Donald Trump significantly behind his top five Democratic challengers. Former Vice President Joe Biden leads Trump by the largest margin, 16 points. That is, 54 percent of registered voters say they would vote for Biden if the 2020 election were held today, while just 38 percent say they would vote for Trump. Every poll in this portion of the campaign cycle has found Joe Biden to be in the lead over Donald Trump.

Other top Democrats who are leading Trump are Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (53 percent said they would vote for Sanders, compared to 39 percent who said they would vote for Trump); Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (52 – 40 percent); California Sen. Kamala Harris (51 – 40 percent); and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (49 – 40 percent).

According to Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Mary Snow, “In hypothetical matchups between President Trump and the top five Democratic presidential candidates, one key number is 40. It’s the ceiling of support for Trump, no matter the candidate. It hovers close to his job approval rating, which has stayed in a tight range since being elected.”

At this point in past presidential campaigns, no incumbent U.S. president has ever polled as poorly against his potential challengers as Donald Trump. Historically, most incumbents were ahead by this time in the campaign, and most led their challengers by an average of 12 points.

Says CNN’s Harry Enten, “…Trump’s worst poll against any of the top five Democrats at this point is 5 points worse than the worst poll for any incumbent since World War II against his eventual challenger. It’s 12 points worse against his most likely challenger, Biden.”

Trump’s approval rating has also been consistently lower than his disapproval rating. According to the Quinnipiac poll, 56 percent of voters said that they disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president; only 38 percent of those polled said they approved.

“That lines up with what occurred in the 2018 midterms,” says CNN’s Enten. “Republican House candidates got the same share of the votes as Trump’s approval rating, 45 percent.”

Though it’s still early, the Quinnipiac poll, along with other polls, clearly shows us that if the 2020 presidential election were held today, most Americans would vote for a Democrat over Donald Trump.

Fox Poll: Trump Trails All of The Leading Democrats | Richard French Live [2019-08-20]

New poll shows several Democrats could beat Trump | CBS News
[2019-08-28]

Category: Richard French Live

* Erik’s Editorial: The Guilty Parties Who Put American Democracy At Risk In The Name Of Donald Trump

Quinnipiac Poll Shows Trump Trailing Top Democrats