The Democratic Party Once Again Leads The GOP Controlled House To A Solid Legislative Accomplishment.

 The GOP controlled U.S. House passed on Saturday President Biden's foreign aid package which included Ukraine aid that Speaker of the House Johnson had been playing politics with for the past several months.  The vote was 311-112.  One hundred and one republicans voted for the bill while one hundred twelve voted against the bill.  Two hundred ten democrats voted for the bill and provided the majority vote for the bill to pass even though they are the minority vote in the U.S. House.

Johnson's failure to do months ago what he did Saturday was a reversal and waisted several months for political purposes that delayed Ukraine the help they needed even after President Biden made the case for the aid to pass timely and put politics aside.  Johnson and his GOP members are still a divided party who have failed to work together for the good of the country and its people.  Their lack of governing and waste of time  is SOP for chaos they created and as a result are a disgrace to their oath of office.

The democratic party are still the sane party in Washington who believe in governing to accomplish what is needed to address the issues the country faces.  The party has not been afraid to govern in a non-partisan way and have demonstrated that.  On the other hand, the GOP works to tear down government, especially in the image of Trump.

What House speaker Johnson should do now, is revisit immigration reform legislation that the democratic controlled Senate was working on and bring the matter before the House for debate and a vote.  Johnson killed the proposal when Trump told him to do so a few months ago.  The immigration burden is congress responsibility to settle.  Most think if the House took it up it would pass and then the Senate would then follow and approve the legislation.  Legislation by congress is the answer because immigration covers a number of issues and the congress controls the purse strings to finance what ever they decide on.  

The democratic controlled Senate passed the House approved Ukraine package on a non-partisan vote of 79-18.  The total  package was $95 billion and included aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian relief to the citizens of Gaza.  President Biden said he would sign the bill as soon as it hits his desk.  Once again it is a democratic administration that is leading a non-partisan matter to address important issues that affect the country, the people and America's leadership around the world.  President Biden's determination to address at hand and keep the focus where it belongs in an election year, represents governing at its highest level.  

The President's first priority is to do the people's work and govern.  And that is what President Biden is doing.

This  commentary written by Joe Lorio

What Will The GOP Do If Trump Is Convicted In His Upcoming Criminal Trial?

 President Trump's upcoming trial this coming week in New York in the Stormy Daniels matter will end one indictment of the former President that could carry a severe judgement if found guilty.  And if that would take place, how would the GOP react?  We know that so far they have supported Trump's actions and even adopted his tactics of blaming others for the situation Trump is in.  The GOP has taken up the torch and even blame the courts, the DOJ and of course, the democrats.

But this trial will be before a jury of Trump's peers.  If the jury fines Trump guilty, will the GOP finally deal with the truth and nominate some one else as their Presidential nominee and finally divorce themselves from Trump?  The party and Trump are one and the same at the present time and a guilty verdict would give the party an excuse to act and do something positive for the country at a time of great peril which they allowed their party to dwell on.

The GOP actually has a legitimate excuse to nominate someone other than Trump at their convention regardless what takes place at Trump's trial but sold their soul long ago to corruption.  Can the party that backed Trump's lies with their own lies reverse course?  If one has character, courage and the desire to serve their country, the answer is yes.

With the Republican National Convention only a few months away, time is running out on the GOP's ability to change the dangerous path they have helped create.  Past leaders who had the courage and character to act for the good of the country have changed the direction of the country for the better.  Who with the GOP will be willing to take the first step, do so and move the country away from the most unfit Presidential nominee in the history of the United States.  The GOP has failed to understand they do not need Trump if they put the country and the people first.  That is the oath they swore to when they took office to begin with.  

President Truman said long ago:  A President needs political understanding to run government, but he may be elected without it.  That describes Trump's election in 2016 and now he is still a person without political understanding and the world now knows why.   

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

   

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and His Phony Position On The National Anthem.

America the beautiful will stay beautiful because of the people's allegiance to one flag, the American flag, the red, white and blue.  And the national anthem whether sung or played by music is all about the American flag.  Some in politics, especially the GOP use the American flag to divide people along with the anti-everything crowd.  Politics was at the fore front when Governor Jeff Landry attacked LSU's women's basketball team when they failed to take the floor of the gym when the national anthem was played before the NCAA playoff game.  

LSU coach Kim Mulkey explained the reason why it took place which could be understood and was a reasonable answer.  There was no intent of disrespect or motive of protest.  Landry's attack on the team was followed up with a letter to Louisiana higher education leaders to mandate that student athletes be present at games as the national anthem is played or risk losing their athletic scholarships.  

Landry's attack came amid a bill before the GOP controlled state legislature that would give him the power to select and control university board chairs that set agendas, a bill Landry supports.  Landry, who  served as Louisiana Attorney General knew for years that the LSU football team were never on the field when the national anthem is played and was silent all those years.  Landry, Trump, the GOP and their right wingers are all phonies on the national anthem subject and the subject of Patriotism.

The United States has only one flag, the stars and stripes of America.  Patriotism reflects how one lives his or her life.  It is not patriotism when one supports another who tries to over turn a Presidential election, using a mob to do so, many of which carried a rebel flag.  The same thing goes for those White Supremacist who carry the rebel flag in violent protest.  The phonies have a record of enabling them.  

 Jeff Landry is a big Trump supporter along with the GOP.  His legislation agenda mimics Trump and the GOP agenda in wanting control over the lives of the people and are willing to use the national anthem and the American flag to achieve their own purpose.  Landry's out burst against the LSU women's basketball team is only the beginning.

Those who carry the rebel flag and those in support, do not represent what America stands for and are certainly no supporters of the national anthem or the American flag.  They also do not represent American patriotism.  And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

 

The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and The Unemployment Rate for March 2024.

The U.S. Labor Department announced the U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs in March and that the unemployment rate came in at 3.8%, down from 3.9% in February.  It was the 38th straight month of positive job growth and the unemployment rate has now been in the 3% range for 26 straight months, the longest stretch since the 1950's.  The Department also reported the economy added 22,000 more jobs in January and February than originally reported.

After the good Department report, the usual negative voices were all over the lot with their negative comments and continued doom and gloom about the positive numbers.  They are still ignorant as to why the economy continues to do well, still ignorant and guessing what the Feds will do on interest rates while the so called business hosts on cable news have been ignorant and wrong on all their economic predictions.  

Unfortunately, the media in general continue to feed the people the negative dialog instead of the positive position of the U.S. economy and the people's confidence in spending.  The readers of PolitiDose knew from the very beginning the Biden administration would move the country and its people out of the Trump great recession and loss of jobs, bring back the economy and jobs because they read it here in PolitiDose commentary before and early after Biden took office.  

It was a repeat story of what President Obama accomplished after he inherited the great Bush 43 recession of 2008.  That also was predicted in PolitiDose commentary before and early after Obama took office.  

History and precedent confirms over the past 90 years that democratic administrations do a much better job at governing than the GOP and it is no coincident.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio   

Trump and His Business World Are No Strangers To Fraud.

Recently when Donald Trump's business was found guilty of committing fraud against the City and State of New York, it was not the only fraud action brought against a Trump business.  In this New York case, Trump and his two sons were fined a total of almost half billion dollars, with Donald Trump being responsible with the majority of the fine imposed.  

In February 2018, Trump settled out of court a fraud law suit against Trump University brought forward by New York's Attorney General and several Trump University students before it was set to go to trial.  Trump settled the suit for $25 million, the Judge approved the settlement and Trump paid the fine while he was President.  New York's Attorney General who handled the case released a public statement after the settlement was approved and said.

New York's Attorney General Eric Schneiderman:  For years President Trump refused to compensate the victims of his sham university.  His reversal and the large scale settlement that resulted opened the door for student victims to finally obtain the restitution they deserve.  My office will continue to hold those who commit fraud accountable, no matter how rich or powerful they may be.  

In another investigation by New York's Attorney General against Trump's Charitable Foundation, the Court ordered Trump to pay more than $2 million in damage to eight different charities for illegality misusing charitable funds at the Trump Foundation for political purposes.  Not only has the Trump Foundation shut down for its misconduct but the president has been forced to pay $2 million for misusing charitable funds for his own political gain writes Attorney General Letitia James in a released dated December 10, 2019.  James also writes, additionally, as part of the settlement Trump was required to agree to 19 admissions, acknowledging his personal misuse of funds of the Trump foundation.  

And now, Trump is  scheduled to go on trial again in New York on April 15 concerning the matter of Stormy Daniels. Trump also faces two other federal trials and another state trial  in Georgia after numerous indictments.  Those trial dates have not been set yet.  It is almost impossible to  believe that in America, a political party would gladly nominate such a person who is so unfit for the Presidency or any other political office.  But here we are.  American democracy deserves better.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

 

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry Calls His Legislative Agenda "Pro Business."

 But the real answers are years away and won't be answered until he leaves office.  For the GOP, "Pro Business" usually indicates the business community will do well but not so the average person and they have a record to prove it.  Fiscally, the GOP has not been the party of fiscal stability, just ask the former administrations of Mike Foster and Bobby Jindal.  And they have never been the party of real job creation.  

The unemployment rate in January of 2016 when John B. Edwards took office was 6.0% and when he left office in January of 2024 it was 4.1%, a reduction of 1.9% in his 8 years in office.  It was 4.1% when Jindal took office and 6.0% when he left office, an increase in unemployment of 1.9% during his 8 years in office.  It was 5.8% when Kathleen Blanco took office and 4.1% when she left office, a reduction of 1.7% in the unemployment rate in her 4 years in office.  It was 6.7% when Mike Foster took office and 5.8% when he left office a reduction of 0.9% in the unemployment rate in his 8 years in office.  

The past 28 year record suggest that when Landry leaves office, the unemployment rate will not be as healthy as when Blanco and Edwards left office.  And this writer is of the opinion that fiscally, the Landry administration will be like the Jindal administration.  The reason being is that the GOP govern by ideology and not by policy or plans which is necessary to address the real issues. 

This commentary written by  Joe Lorio 

The Republican Party's Armageddon.

Forget about the Biblical Armageddon that was predicted over a thousand years ago that was to occur at a future date.  The Armageddon that will take place in the summer is sure to come at the Republican party's national convention when the party nominates former President Donald Trump to be their Presidential nominee in the 2024 election.  

When the gavel falls and Trump becomes the party's official nominee, the GOP will stoop to the lowest level possible in politics.  Never before has a party nominated a Presidential candidate whose company was convicted of Fraud, or a candidate convicted of  sexual abuse on a woman and  defaming the same woman, being indicted on numerous charges and set to go to trial soon in connection with alleged money payments to Stormy Daniels

And to top it off, the party will be nominating a former President who committed a traitorous act of trying to overturn the Presidential election of 2020 and obstruct the peaceful transfer of power to the new administration, urged his mob to attack the Capitol and intimidate the U.S. House from casting their vote in the electoral college.  This same person has attacked the constitution, America's institutions, the rule of law, the Department of Justice, the court system and individual judges along with American democracy and his lies and misinformation continue today as policy.  

Donald Trump has been toxic to American democracy and is unqualified to hold any public office ever again, especially the Presidency.  No party can justify nominating such a corrupted person to be their party's Presidential nominee, it is against everything America stands for in its 200 plus years of history.  And today, three years after leaving office, Trump is still engaged in the same lies and blames everyone else for his own corruption and even brags if re-elected, he makes a promise to be vindictive.  

When Armageddon comes at the end of the Republican National Convention, the party will have no one to blame but themselves and the embrace of Trump's toxic ideology.  Their lack of courage, character and political understanding along with an enabling media and voter base, tells the story how corrupt the party has become.  Trump and his party are a total disgrace to political governing.  

There is time for the party to change course and nominate someone other than Trump to avoid Armageddon for their party and the country.  If change does not come, the people should make it known they would support a new Independent party and let Armageddon phase out the current GOP and for good reasons.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

The Democratic Party Continues To Produce For The Country and Its people.

The GOP controlled U.S. House passed a $1.2 trillion spending package on Friday which was necessary to avoid a government shutdown caused by their own failure to govern.  The final vote for passage was 286-134.  Voting for the bill were 101 Republicans while 112 Republicans voted no.  The number of Democrats who voted for the bill were 185 while 22 Democrats voted no.

Republicans who voted against the bill said the bottom line is that this is a complete and utter surrender.  GOP opponents of the bill also took issue with the GOP's leadership and remarked it was clear that the Democrats own the Speaker's gavel. 

Once again it is a SANE democratic party who provided the majority vote to pass legislation that keeps the government running to take care of the people's business.  The GOP House has wasted almost 6 months on their threat to shutdown the government to arrive to where we are today.  And to make matters worse, the GOP left town after the vote for a two week vacation and failed to address funding for Ukraine and Israel.  

The Democratic controlled Senate took up the bill early Saturday morning and passed the House's bill on a vote of 74-24 and the President signed the bill into law later on in the day.  Forty nine democratic senators voted for the bill and twenty five republican senators voted for the bill.  It is another win for the country and the people and the end to another unnecessary threat by the Republicans in congress.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio   

 

New York's Court System Brings Donald Trump To Justice and Holds Him Accountable For His Crimes.

 New York's Judiciary would not allow former President Trump to intimidate its system of justice and held him accountable for his crimes.  In three New York trials Trump's company was found guilty of committing fraud against the state and Trump was found guilty of  sexual assault against E. Jean Carroll and in another trial found guilty of defaming her.  

Trump's fraud trial was without a jury at his own request and the presiding judge decided the case.  Both trials concerning E.Jean Carroll, the verdict was decided by a jury of Trump's peers.  Before, during and after Trump's trials, Trump did his best to try and intimidate the judges, prosecutors and the system with his personal attacks but the system held firm.  The fines that were given to Trump for his actions are now in the process of playing out and time will tell how much Trump is affected financially. 

Unlike the federal court system, New York took Trump's crimes seriously, understood how he tried to manipulate the system and destroy the legal process, acted timely so justice would be served.  And coming up next in New York will be Trump's trial with Stormy Daniels next month.  

In the mean time, Trump is waiting to go to trial on the federal level whose trials has been delayed because of Trump's delaying tactics that the federal courts have allowed to take place.  The federal courts have succumbed to Trump's intimidation and attacks and the Supreme Court has agreed to take up Trump's notion of "total immunity" for his actions which the Court of Appeals have already ruled against twice.  The Supreme Court's decision will push back Trump's trial date for several months.  It should be noted that Trump is the only President to ever claim a President has "total immunity."  New York upheld its laws and acted timely.  The federal courts have failed to act timely.

Those convictions of Trump make him a convicted criminal according to Websters Dictionary.  And because of that, Trump is totally not qualified to be a Presidential nominee or ever be President again.  And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe  Lorio    

The GOP Controlled U.S. House, With Speaker of The House Louisiana's Mike Johnson Still Represents The Republican Do Nothing Party.

 Johnson and his anti-Democracy GOP'ers in the U.S. House are still taking the country to the brink, threatening a last minute government shutdown.  It has been going on for months and splinters the normal process to pass a budget that requires intelligent thought.  The budget process needs the minds and thoughts of SANE adults and not the CULT mind of the GOP.

The democratic controlled U.S. Senate passed a bill with GOP support that provides the funds for Ukraine and Israel that President Biden asked for.  The "do nothing" republican controlled U.S. House said the bill was dead after Trump rejected the bill and gave orders not to support it.  There is no question that there were enough GOP votes in the House that would join the democrats in the House to pass it. To make things worse Trump took the position of Putin and said he did not care if Russia prevailed in Ukraine.

On another note, the U.S. Senate controlled by the democratic party was ready to pass an immigration reform legislation bill with enough GOP support to send to the House for a vote.  But Trump ordered his CULT party to reject the bill and therefore there was no bill.  And once again in just a short month the "do nothing" party did nothing that they thought would help the Biden administration.  Comprehensive reform immigration legislation has to be done by congress because it is only congress who have the authority to provide the funds to implement the cost of the legislation.  Executive Actions will not solve the problem.

In the past 11 years only two administrations have offered immigration reform legislation.  Both the democratic administrations of President's Barrack Obama and Joe Biden.  President Obama in 2013 when the democratic controlled Senate passed the bill by a vote of 68-32.  Fourteen GOP Senators joined the vote and voted yes with the democrats.  However, the GOP controlled U.S. House refused to take the bill up and let it die without even a vote or debate.  And now in 2024 President Biden's administration and the democratic controlled senate had enough votes to pass immigration reform legislation until Trump stepped in and ordered his CULT party to reject the legislation and not take it up.  Trump and his party had a great chance to introduce immigration reform legislation when his party controlled both houses of congress the first two years in office and failed to do so.

Nothing has changed for the GOP since President Truman said long ago that the GOP was the "do nothing" party.  The only thing they did was add to their resume that they have become a CULT party following a CULT leader, one corrupted to the core and a convicted one.  They also now lean on the anti-Democratic edge and favor dictators over the democratic process.  And Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is right in the middle of it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio