Ken Scott Baron Podcast

Ken Scott Baron interviews BWMTSC Co Chair Jeff Horton on Senator Warren's bid to win the 2020 Democratic Nomination for President.

Mack Scott Baron is interviewed about the Senate seats in play for the 2020 General election. He goes through the list of 5 Republicans and 4 Democrat seats that could change. He giving reasons why that is so.

This is part of a series of blogs and podcasts that highlight the choices available on values and policies that may or may not align with those of the NABWMT 

 

 

The 2020 presidential campaign will include discussions of many issues, from health care to inequality to climate change to abortion. But it may be that there will be one issue that also will be important: corruption.

This is unusual in a U.S. presidential election. People all over the world admire the United States for our lack of corruption, that in many countries people have to endure, in which every minor interaction with the government requires a bribe and the well-connected rob their countries treasures.

Or maybe it’s not surprising at all. President Trump is being looked at for trying to coerce Ukraine into doing something corrupt on his behalf while he claims that Joe Biden was doing something corrupt by demanding the removal of a corrupt official who refused to investigate corruption.

The fact that all involvement in foreign interference detracts mightily from the pressing issues we have at home was aptly captured in the words of Dr. Martin King:

"Our involvement in the war in Vietnam has torn up the Geneva Accord. It has strengthened the military-industrial complex; it has strengthened the forces of reaction in our nation. It has put us against the self-determination of a vast majority of the Vietnamese people, and put us in the position of protecting a corrupt regime that is stacked against the poor".

"It has played havoc with our domestic destinies. This day we are spending five hundred thousand dollars to kill every Vietcong soldier. Every time we kill one we spend about five hundred thousand dollars while we spend only fifty-three dollars a year for every person characterized as poverty-stricken in the so-called poverty program, which is not even a good skirmish against poverty".

It will be a very different argument depending on who winds up with the nomination, however. While the corruption conversation will inevitably concern the person of Donald Trump, a couple of the Democratic contenders have a much wider critique, in which the problem is not an individual but a system.

Today, if you compare the two candidates that are top the polls, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren. As anyone watching the campaign knows, Biden says that once we elect him, we can return to normal. He sees the current system as a healthy one that mostly requires personnel and policy recalibration. The way to make sure the interests of ordinary people are advanced is to elect someone who cares about ordinary people and promises to work on their behalf.

Warren, argues that the deeper problem is a system that allows people like Trump to use their wealth and power to amass more wealth and power, at the expense of those ordinary people. Income inequality is one of the issues that attacks the values of the NABWMT.

Bernie Sanders makes an argument similar to Warren’s. It is likely that the other candidates will make claims similar to Biden’s, that Trump is the core of the problem.

Furthermore, Sanders released a plan taking aim at money and influence within political parties, national party conventions, and presidential inaugurations. He wants to transform our political system by rejecting the influence of big corporate money. “Our grassroots-funded campaign is proving every single day that you don’t need billionaires and private fundraisers to run for president.”

Although Sanders has spent both his presidential campaigns railing against the influence millionaires and billionaires, this is the first extensive anti-corruption plan he has released.

America is facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to win game-changing national political reforms that would repair our broken political system.

Who is the real reformer? Who will work with Republicans? Who can actually get this accomplished? Voters don’t generally trust either party on these issues.

We know small donors will play a big role.

This is Ken Scott Baron from the National Association of Black and White Men Together with the run down on the 2020 Senate chamber where control of that chamber will be crucial to either party.

This summer, Texas Democrats to pick their favorite from a list of candidates for the 2020 U.S. Senate race. They chose, with nineteen per cent of the vote—almost twice that of the next nearest contender—former congressman Beto O’Rourke, of El Paso. 

About half of those polled said that O’Rourke should drop his Presidential bid and take Republican senator John Cornyn, whose approval rating is in the thirties. “Beto, if you’re listening: Come home,” the Houston Chronicle said in an editorial after the poll was released. “Texas needs you.”  Beto declined.

Even if Donald Trump is defeated, the Democrats will need to pick up three Senate seats in order to gain control of the chamber and have a reasonable chance of turning their plans into legislative reality. If Trump wins, the crucial net gain will be four. (The Vice-President gets to break any tie)

In addition, if either Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders beat Trump—the Republican governor of the winner’s state would name an interim senator until a special election could be held.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are both in their eighties. Trump could have an unimpeded choice to replace one or both of them, potentially remaking the Court. 

Republicans have to defend twenty-three of the thirty-five Senate seats on the ballot next year, but most of them are in deep-red states.

There are openings for the Democrats. One has already been taken: two weeks ago, in Colorado, the former governor John Hickenlooper abandoned his Presidential campaign, and he will now run against Senator Cory Gardner, instantly turning what had been a likely Republican win into a possible Democratic one. 

In Georgia, an increasingly purple state, there are now two Republican seats up for grabs. David Perdue, is running for re-election, and Johnny Isakson announced last week that he would step down at the end of this year for health reasons. 

There is a Democrat who could be a formidable contender for either seat: Stacey Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, who narrowly lost a highly contested governor’s race last year. Abrams has said that she is not interested, even though, as in Texas, no other candidate commands the field. She intends to stay focussed on her voting-rights work, but she did say that she would “be honored” to be considered as the Democrats’ Vice-Presidential candidate.

In Arizona, Mark Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot and astronaut, is running against Senator Martha McSally, who lost last year to the Democrat Kyrsten Sinema but was appointed by the Republican governor to fill John McCain’s seat after his death. 

Kelly is the husband of the former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously wounded eight years ago in a mass shooting at an event in Tucson. Since then, Giffords and Kelly have become tireless advocates for gun control. He is a well-known figure with a strong message in a state that seems ready to hear it.

The Democrats have their own vulnerabilities. Doug Jones won in a 2017 special election in Alabama against Judge Roy Moore, a far-right extremist. Jones must now defend that seat in a state where Trump’s approval rating is above sixty per cent. 

In Michigan, the junior Democratic senator, Gary Peters, is facing a strong challenger in John James, an Iraq War veteran and a businessman, who, if elected, would be one of only two African-American Republicans in the Senate. In these states—and in others that may be in play, such as Iowa, Maine, and North Carolina—the essential message is the same: the candidates matter.

And in case one forgets, the Senate is also a place where Montana, with a population of one million,

This is Ken Scott Baron from the National Association of Black and White Men Together.

At the NA we believe health care is a right, diversity is a strength, the economy should work for everyone, and facts and truth matter.

So, in this podcast, once again, I will look at our values and now we, in a non partisan manner, can look at the "big picture" of the current impeachment inquiry and see how our representatives are portraying this.

Here is the first quote on this subject:

"In the course of my official duties, I have received information from multiple U.S. government officials that the president of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election." This is from the whistleblower complaint, declassified Sept. 26

And a second:

"You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now." This is from President Trump, Sept. 26

A Third one:

"If that perfect phone call with the President of Ukraine isn't considered appropriate, then no future President can EVER again speak to another foreign leader!" — President Trump, Sept. 27

And lastly:

"If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal." this was quoted by President Trump, Sept. 29

Not so long ago, President Trump's impeachment was once politically risky for Democrats. This has changed based on new events.

One reason is that the supporters of the President have yet to develop a strategy to fight impeachment.

Over the past several days, Republicans have repeatedly been unable to unify or even outline a response. As for Trump, he’s tweeting about a “civil war” and an attempted “coup”.

Polls show support for an impeachment inquiry is growing. The poll responders are equally for and against.

Back in October 1998, the vast majority of Americans were against impeaching and removing President Clinton from office. In a CNN poll 31% favored impeaching and removing. The vast majority, 63%, were against it. This -32 point gap for impeaching and removing Clinton stands in contrast to the +1 gap for impeaching and removing Trump.

President Trump has admitted he froze military aid to Ukraine and then suggested to the Ukrainian President Zelensky that he investigate Joe and Hunter Biden. And he released the rough transcript of his call with Zelensky that confirms all of this.

However, a poll released by Monmouth University on Tuesday showed a plurality believes the accusations against Biden. Although these accusations have been debunked, many voters instinctively believe there is something wrong with the fact that Hunter Biden could be helped by his dad. It’s quite possible Trump and the Republicans can damage Biden.

On the other hand, that same poll also shows more than 60% believe it is “not appropriate” for a president to make such requests of a foreign leader, based on prohibitions on such acts in the Constitution.

A more recent poll, by the Progressive Change Institute, found that 49 % say they strongly or somewhat support an impeachment inquiry. Many who oppose impeachment agree with Democrats and are just scared about the politics.

The Republican talking points may not work. The Democrats appear to have a  strategy with real substance and real facts is always better.

So, what, if any, of the Republicans are concerned about the actions of the President?

Senator Mitt Romney has been critical of the President's Ukraine phone call. He now has the opportunity to lead his party out of this.

Review of the schedule for the 2020 Presidential Election and it's primaries.The top 3 Democratic candidates are outlined in terms of their performances in polls and the policies relevant to the NABWMT values. 

Ken Scott Baron discusses the impeachment inquiry that the US House of Representatives has started on the conduct of the President. The allegations, if proved, could affect the NABWMT and it's  fight for voter sanctity. 

Welcome to the revised podcast of the National Association of Black and White Men Together.

This is Ken Scott Baron and after an hiatus of some months, this podcast is being upgraded to reflect the urgency of our times.

We are in a very difficult and threatening times and events are undermining and attacking our values in our country and lives.

We have an administration that has removed or rolled back historic gains in laws protecting the communities of color, queer people and hurting many at the margins.

Never before have our right to vote been so overtly and forcibly suppressed and gerrymandered.

As we approach the 2020 General Election the NA Board through its media committee plan to provide up to date information on how things are changing. We are bound by our statement of purpose to stop the inequalities in our world, restricted only by our 501(c)3 non profit status. Therefore, we will not endorse particular candidates.

But that will not strip us of education and outreach.

Our early results are shown on special page on our website, given in our show notes. As a sidebar, we will still provide podcasts and blogs on other themes, but focus on current events and the Democratic and Republican candidates.

it seems that the field will narrow as funding for some dwindfole, and interest may want for others.

We will focus on issues brought up in surveys of our members and allies at our Conventions and Facebook page, namiely:

Health Care

Guns

Immigration

The Economy

We are looking forward to providing this service, Thanks for listening.

Ken Scott Baron

SHOW NOTES

Our Voter Guide

https://nabwmt.org/voter-guide

Our Main Site:

https://nabwmt.org/

We know that it is a struggle for gays who feel the Catholic church tenants espoused by Jesus; justice, peace and caring, are their core values but the stance on homosexuality can demonize them. Famous Catholics, such as Oscar Wilde, Robert Mapplethorpe managed to excel and have a relationship with some of the teachings.

Nostalgia reigns as we listen to Barak Obama's inaugural address. 

Remember the good times.