A House Divided . . .
By James Donahue
Abraham Lincoln quoted Jesus when he gave his famous "house divided" speech before the Republican State Convention in Springfield, Illinois, on June 16, 1858. He went on to win the Presidency against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas.
Lincoln’s speech was controversial when he said it. Yet it was clearly prophetic because of the looming Civil War that was to literally tear the nation apart during his term in office.
That war was fought over the issue of state’s rights and slavery. Today, a century and a half later, America is once again a house divided, and the rift may be even more severe than it was in 1858. Not only are Americans divided over racial issues, but Lincoln’s grand old party was battling a Democratic black president; the first ever to be elected to the White House. The Republicans then elected Donald Trump a president who has made it clear he despised the fact that a black president preceded him. Mr. Trump went out of his way to erase the work accomplished by President Barack Obama and his Vice President Joseph Biden.
That Mr. Biden has since defeated Donald Trump for the presidency has set the stage for an intense party split over not only racial issues but voting rights and Mr. Biden’s efforts to get the COVID disaster cleaned up.
The fighting on party lines was so severe that President Obama had to use every trick in the book to get important legislation passed. Many of his appointments to vacant political and judicial seats remained unapproved by the Republican controlled Congress. Because of gerrymandering and trickery in key voting districts the Republicans also gained control of the Senate, thus creating a political block against just about anything Mr. Biden has on his plate during his time in office.
While unable to get much done on the home front, the Obama Administration focused on issues in the Middle East, which have always been ugly.
Vice President Biden, who was personally involved in negotiations with Iranian leaders, justifiably exploded in anger when 47 Republican Senators sent a letter to Iran which questioned the authority of President Obama to negotiate his nuclear deal with Iran. Mr. Biden accused the Senate Republicans of undercutting "sensitive international negotiations" and acting "beneath the dignity of an institution I revere."
The letter suggested that any deal the Iranians make with President Obama would likely be scuttled by Republican legislators, and that a successor to Mr. Obama might choose to invalidate its terms. And this is exactly what happened after Mr. Trump entered the White House in 2017.
Biden warned in his statement that the letter "ignores two centuries of precedent and threatens to undermine the ability of any future American president, whether Democrat or Republican, to negotiate with other nations on behalf of the United States.
"As the authors of this letter must know, the vast majority of our international commitments take effect without congressional approval," Biden wrote.
Indeed, the United States is currently steaming through perilous times and it appears imperative that the President and the other branches of government stand united in efforts to negotiate peaceful solutions.
Since it is clear that the Republican legislators are now resisting everything President Biden is attempting to accomplish, and the Judicial branch has been muddying the waters with controversial decisions, this house . . . the United States government, is clearly divided in almost every front. That Mr. Trump and his gang of thugs got away with appointing yet another extreme right-wing thinker to the latest Supreme Court vacancy, the conflict may remain unresolved for many years ahead.
It is no secret that America has made enemies in all corners of the world. The Republican senators . . . many of them greenhorn Tea Party extremists have been joining Trump in placing our nation in great jeopardy. Could they collectively pull themselves up for a united front in the event the United States comes under an attack by a foreign power?
Operatives for ISIS, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and China might be asking this very question as they watch events unfold in Washington.
By James Donahue
Abraham Lincoln quoted Jesus when he gave his famous "house divided" speech before the Republican State Convention in Springfield, Illinois, on June 16, 1858. He went on to win the Presidency against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas.
Lincoln’s speech was controversial when he said it. Yet it was clearly prophetic because of the looming Civil War that was to literally tear the nation apart during his term in office.
That war was fought over the issue of state’s rights and slavery. Today, a century and a half later, America is once again a house divided, and the rift may be even more severe than it was in 1858. Not only are Americans divided over racial issues, but Lincoln’s grand old party was battling a Democratic black president; the first ever to be elected to the White House. The Republicans then elected Donald Trump a president who has made it clear he despised the fact that a black president preceded him. Mr. Trump went out of his way to erase the work accomplished by President Barack Obama and his Vice President Joseph Biden.
That Mr. Biden has since defeated Donald Trump for the presidency has set the stage for an intense party split over not only racial issues but voting rights and Mr. Biden’s efforts to get the COVID disaster cleaned up.
The fighting on party lines was so severe that President Obama had to use every trick in the book to get important legislation passed. Many of his appointments to vacant political and judicial seats remained unapproved by the Republican controlled Congress. Because of gerrymandering and trickery in key voting districts the Republicans also gained control of the Senate, thus creating a political block against just about anything Mr. Biden has on his plate during his time in office.
While unable to get much done on the home front, the Obama Administration focused on issues in the Middle East, which have always been ugly.
Vice President Biden, who was personally involved in negotiations with Iranian leaders, justifiably exploded in anger when 47 Republican Senators sent a letter to Iran which questioned the authority of President Obama to negotiate his nuclear deal with Iran. Mr. Biden accused the Senate Republicans of undercutting "sensitive international negotiations" and acting "beneath the dignity of an institution I revere."
The letter suggested that any deal the Iranians make with President Obama would likely be scuttled by Republican legislators, and that a successor to Mr. Obama might choose to invalidate its terms. And this is exactly what happened after Mr. Trump entered the White House in 2017.
Biden warned in his statement that the letter "ignores two centuries of precedent and threatens to undermine the ability of any future American president, whether Democrat or Republican, to negotiate with other nations on behalf of the United States.
"As the authors of this letter must know, the vast majority of our international commitments take effect without congressional approval," Biden wrote.
Indeed, the United States is currently steaming through perilous times and it appears imperative that the President and the other branches of government stand united in efforts to negotiate peaceful solutions.
Since it is clear that the Republican legislators are now resisting everything President Biden is attempting to accomplish, and the Judicial branch has been muddying the waters with controversial decisions, this house . . . the United States government, is clearly divided in almost every front. That Mr. Trump and his gang of thugs got away with appointing yet another extreme right-wing thinker to the latest Supreme Court vacancy, the conflict may remain unresolved for many years ahead.
It is no secret that America has made enemies in all corners of the world. The Republican senators . . . many of them greenhorn Tea Party extremists have been joining Trump in placing our nation in great jeopardy. Could they collectively pull themselves up for a united front in the event the United States comes under an attack by a foreign power?
Operatives for ISIS, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and China might be asking this very question as they watch events unfold in Washington.