Do Republicans really want to go there? Do they really want to go down the Repwikidonputinrush (pronounced, Rep wiki don pootin rush) road? I do not expect you to know what Repwikidonputinrush means because it is a word that I just coined for this article and so is not in the dictionary yet. As a disclaimer I want to say DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH UNTIL IT GETS THERE BECAUSE THAT COULD BE FATAL. Anyway, what it – the word Repwikidonputinrush means, is ‘Republican, WikiLeaks, Donald (Trump), Putin, Russia. So – now that you know what this newly coined word means, I ask again, do the Republicans really want to go down this road?

The Trump campaign and the Republicans have been regularly invoking revelations from WikiLeaks that are selectively and slowly being dribbled to the press to indict Secretary Hillary Clinton for her alleged dishonesty and poor judgment and solidify their assertion that she should not be President of the United States. By the way, it is worth noting that 17 U.S. intelligence agencies have said the information in these revelations was stolen via hacks into the DNC’s and Hillary Clinton’s emails by Russia.

Despite what these intelligence agencies have said, Mr. Trump and these Republicans are still using WikiLeaks’ information to bolster Mr. Trump’s assertions that Secretary Clinton is not fit to be president and that the election is rigged to help her win. What is just as interesting is that Donald Trump has always adamantly defended Vladimir Putin and Russia against the United States claims that Russia is responsible for these hacks and he continues to do so. It is no secret that he has heaped praise on Mr. Putin while at the same time belittling American leaders including President Barack Obama.

On October 26, 2016 I posted an article to this blog which stated that Mr. Trump and the Republicans believed that they had received a golden egg from the mythical golden goose that would help them not only to hold on to their majority in the Senate and House, but it would help them and America to get rid of Obamacare once and for all. Well, it appears that the mythical golden goose has presented them with a second golden egg. This egg is in the form of FBI Director James B. Comey. This time, however, the egg might not be so mythical and it might be much easier for Republicans to turn it into a political windfall.

Just 11 days before the election and against the advice of U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director Comey decided to send a vague letter to a number of Republicans stating that he might have found more Hillary Clinton emails that might be relevant to the Hillary Clinton closed investigation that, if actually relevant might cause him to reopen the Clinton email investigation. Say What! What does his statement really mean?

Well, Mr. Trump and the Republicans knew exactly what they wanted it to mean so they took it and ran directly to the media. As a result, the polls that were widening in Secretary Clinton’s favor have taken a dramatic turn and things are starting to tighten up. Amazingly, Republicans still want to put Donald Trump in the White House! Those Republicans who at one time or another said that Mr. Trump is a con man who is unqualified and unfit to be President of the United States should be held accountable for what they are doing and at best for them, should suffer some form of severe political punishment short of not being reelected and at worst that punishment should result in the election of someone to replace them.

I don’t know why Director Comey chose to do what he did. I want to believe that it has everything to do with his desire to preserve his integrity and nothing to do with his loyalty to the Republican Party or desire for political gain. However, with someone who is for all intents and purposes his boss telling him not to do what he ultimately decided to do of his own volition, it is hard for me to accept that belief. I have to also wonder what he would do if he instructed one of his agents to not do a certain thing and that agent, for whatever reason, did it anyway. Apples and oranges because the relationship between Attorney General Lynch and Director Comey is not exactly the same as that between Director Comey and his employees? Maybe; but it is certainly still food for thought.

Further, I don’t know if what Director Comey did will help to catapult Donald Trump to a win or simply help more down ballot Republicans to be successful. Even if it only helps Republicans to retain control of the House and Senate it will still be bad because that will only mean continued Washington gridlock. But whatever the case might be no voter should let this deter them from casting their ballot on or before November 8. Why? Because your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

As regards FBI Director Comey, there are a lot of things that I don’t know about his actions but what I do know is that he, not the voters that he said he was so concerned about in his letter to his employees explaining why he did what he did, single-handedly likely changed how America will be governed for at least the next four to eight years and possibly even decades to come. Director Comey is the only person who truly knows the answer to why he did what he did. And based on the kind of man that his track record says that he is, I hope that he did it for all of, at least in his mind, the right reasons.

When the new president takes office, whoever that might be, I do not know if they could replace him with someone else simply because of how he handled the above mentioned situation even if they wanted to. If Secretary Clinton wins, with the way that the Senate has handled President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, even if she had that option available to her and decided to replace Director Comey, I’m not sure that she could get a replacement in place before she is term-limited even if she manages to stay in office for eight years.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

It has been a long time since the Republicans ranted on a regular basis about the evils of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) and how they will save Americans from it by destroying it root and branch. But recently the press handed them what they believe to be a golden egg from that wonderful mythical goose that will not only prevent them from losing seats in red states that traditionally vote Republican but are now wavering, but it will help them to rid America of Obamacare once and for all. All that we have to do, these reinvigorated Republicans believe, is to generate 1.21 gigawatts of power – in each direction – to propel us through that black hole back to the point in the past where we had the optimum leverage against Obamacare, grab that leverage, and bring it back to the future; the here-and-now! Just like Doc and Marty McFly did in that car that Doc made! Voila, right?

Whether or not this can be done, it appears that the desperate Republican Party is willing to try it. Because ever since headlines in the mainstream media have begun to appear that say premiums for Obamacare will likely increase by an average of 22 percent in 2017, Republicans cannot hide their glee. Even those who have been almost impossible to find because they have been avoiding the press so that they won’t have to answer questions about their standard bearer, Donald Trump, are suddenly popping up like weeds during a refreshing spring rain after a long dry spell and rolling out the old Obamacare rhetoric. Even The Donald himself is trying to take advantage of what might be the only lifeline, despite its precariousness, for his failing campaign to harbor even the slightest hope of a win on November 8. Of course he could not be satisfied with the projected average of a 22 percent increase so he exaggerated this rate in a recent speech to his base.

Republicans are cheerfully shouting to the top of their lungs things like, we told you so; Obamacare is a disaster; and we are going to repeal and replace Obamacare with something that is patient-centric, much better, and less costly. What they are not telling us even in a whisper let alone shouting it as loud as they can is what they are going to replace it with; what that ‘something’ is that will be patient-centric, much better and less costly that they will replace it with; and why after all of this time they haven’t yet revealed a detailed plan to the American people of what they plan to replace it with.

Another thing that they are not telling us is the part that the Republicans played in a concerted effort to assure that Obamacare would fail. They are not telling us that their part is firmly entrenched in the statement that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made shortly after Senator Barack Obama became president in which Senator McConnell said that his number one priority was to make President Obama a one-term president. They are not telling us that they decided that come hell-or-high water – which has so far proven to include gridlock, a plethora of do-nothing congresses, and risking or ruining America’s pristine credit rating, their plan was to make sure that the policies and bills that President Obama championed and other things important to his legacy would fail; things like Obamacare.

Most states, if not all of them, that were headed by a Republican Governor or that had Republican-led or heavily Republican legislatures have fought relentlessly to prevent Obamacare from succeeding. In some cases these states have not only fought hard to prevent it from succeeding but they have, in essence, sabotaged it by refusing to expand their state’s Medicare programs. Had they worked with the president, not only would premiums likely not be going up in 2017, but they would probably have been a lot more affordable in the first place and the program itself would likely have been well on the path to being a success if not already successful.

Perhaps the reason that Republicans have not revealed their plan is because, like their standard bearer Donald Trump who has refused to reveal his foreign policy plans to Americans until after the election (and maybe even after, based on his statements, he has defeated ISIS), they don’t want to reveal their plan to the enemy. They want it to be a surprise; they want to keep us in suspense. But are we, the American citizens and voters, the enemy? Only if they have no plan and are trying – again, like their standard bearer – to dupe us and want to make sure that they don’t foil their chances, no matter how slight, of winning the election. If that is the case, then we likely are considered to be the enemy.

There is a saying that “a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.” In the case of Obamacare and this phantom plan that the Republicans are offering, a bird in the hand (Obamacare) is better than a million in the bush offered by this hidden plan, which amounts to “no plan at all” that the Republican Party is trying to sell us (caveat emptor). But it is obvious that that will not prevent them from trying to use it to put Donald Trump in the White House. This is happening despite the fact that many of them who just recently jumped off of his bandwagon because they finally believed that he did not even have the slightest chance of winning might be back on it again because they see a slight glimmer of hope for him and once again believe that hitching their quest for political success to him might still provide some political advantage.

There is about two weeks left until Election Day. This is an extremely important election and it is extremely important for all of those who are eligible to vote to make sure that they exercise that right. Too often too many of us as Americans take this right for granted and so nonchalantly decide not to vote. We should never waste our vote; but especially in this election, an election that has the potential to change the face of America and have a long-term impact on her future. I believe that a wasted vote comes when we either stay at home – for whatever reason – and not vote, or cast a protest vote for someone whom we know does not stand the slightest chance of winning.

So whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent always remember that your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it! Knowing this, you must be sure to get informed and get out and vote on or before November 8; preferably before that date. If you vote early, you can avoid the crowd and the chance that you might need to wait in a long line. I can attest to that because I already voted: no wait, no stress, no problem.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

I haven’t posted an article in so long that you might have thought that I had gone missing. Well, as it turns out, it was the hard drive on my computer that was AWOL and not me. Anyway, I’m back and following is the article that I want to share with you.

Donald J. Trump continues to be extremely dangerous to the American way of life and a change agent as to how the world sees us. While his son, Donald Trump Jr. is saying that the presidency would be a step down for his dad if he should win the election, Donald J. Trump continues to talk down America and our political system. His latest claim is that the system is rigged for Hillary Clinton in an effort to assure that she wins the election. Therefore, he says that he will only accept the results of the election “if I win.”

As a result of the problems that The Donald alleges are occurring in the presidential election process, the Russians have requested to have monitors present at polling places around the country during the November 8 elections. Of course, their request has been denied. But don’t be surprised if it is supported by Mr. Trump. Although he has repeatedly denied that he is cozy with Russian president Vladimir Putin, he has been one of his most adamant defenders throughout this election cycle. One of those denials occurred during the latest, and final, presidential debate; so did his latest defense of Russia (President Putin).

Countries around the world have always looked to the United States for leadership and as the ultimate example especially when it comes to democracy. Donald Trump is making a mockery of that long-held respected position and is spawning doubt in the minds of world leaders and their fellow countrymen as to whether or not we are still up to the task. That should not be! Americans have worked too hard and too long in our effort to perfect this democracy to allow Donald J. Trump – or the likes of him, to tear it and America down! That is chief among the reasons why it is so important to vote early or get out and vote on November 8.

Although many Republicans are beginning to come around, publicly condemn Mr. Trump for his actions and withdraw their support from him, they should not get any credit for that. The time to step up like true statesmen and show strong leadership in tough situations – of which this is obviously one, has long past. In the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Not only did these Republicans fall far short of that mark, but they are continuing to try to suppress the rights of those legitimate voters throughout America who desperately want to vote.

This situation with Donald J. Trump should not be about preserving ones job; it should be about preserving all of what is good about America! Where is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell?! Where is Speaker Paul Ryan?! Where is RNC Chairman Reince Priebus?! Where are the Republican statesmen?! Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the person who when he was Senate Minority Leader pledged to fix a broken senate when he became Senate Majority Leader, has long been the king of showboating in “moments of comfort and convenience” and hiding- almost to the point of becoming the invisible man, in “times of challenge and controversy.” Perhaps congress should establish a Select Committee to find out where his hiding place is and then investigate why he is always missing in action in times of challenge and controversy. Why not? They eagerly investigate everything Hillary.

Speaker Ryan, RNC Chairman Priebus and the other congressmen might not be as hard to find as Majority Leader McConnell but they are doing just as much as he is to denounce Donald Trump and stop him from ruining America; and that is virtually nothing. Mr. Trump has openly talked about how as a billionaire it makes him smart to pay zero dollars in federal taxes over a period of almost two decades. He has admitted how he has used laws in America to avoid paying his debts. He has insulted people of almost every ethnic background and said that he wants to bar all Muslims from entering this country.

He has degraded women and openly bragged about how he could grab them by their genitals and get away with it because of his celebrity. He has regularly touted foreign leaders like those in Russia and China and ranted about how smart they are and how stupid America’s leaders are. He has fervently defended Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia against accusations that Russia is responsible for the hacking of the DNC and Hillary Clinton emails even though 17 American intelligence agencies have said that Russia is responsible for the hacks. And this man wants to be our president? What more does anyone need to know to determine that he is not the person who should occupy the Oval Office?

Some among the rich and powerful use our country’s law system, which is purposely skewed in their favor, to impose their will upon the poor and weak to strip them of their rights and valuables. In their insatiable greed, they also lust after that inalienable crown jewel that all people possess but cannot take it regardless of how rich and powerful they are; it must be surrendered. That crown jewel is our dignity. Mr. Trump is this statement personified; when it is juxtaposed with his behavior and personality, it is nearly a perfect fit. Too many politicians – in this case Republican politicians, have already surrendered their dignity. We as American voters must not surrender ours.

As a final point, I have a message for those who are struggling to make a decision – especially Evangelicals, who might be among those considering casting their vote for Donald J. Trump. That message is that the challenges that we face in life can sometimes be overwhelming. But to give up and in essence do nothing will ultimately make matters worse; it will exacerbate the struggle to retain and grow that substance of things hoped for and that evidence of things unseen. When one can acquire and retain that unique substance, and internalize and grow that captured substance and evidence, then nothing will be impossible for them. Of all people who are considering voting for Donald Trump simply because he is the best option between two bad choices knowing that they are horrified by his behavior and rhetoric but yet repulsed by Secretary Clinton because they believe that she is completely untrustworthy, Evangelicals should understand this.

For those – again, especially Evangelicals – who are using the rationale that they are picking the lesser of two evils to justify their selection I say that these are just popular words that many of those in the valley-of-decision find it convenient to use in lieu of getting informed and making what is a tough decision. You have a moral and ethical responsibility. Therefore, instead, you should carefully examine each candidates record and decide based on that record which of the two is likely to best lead our country in these dire times. And after you contemplate my message to you and review each candidate’s record you still feel compelled to vote for Mr. Trump, then that is what you should do.

I watched the Rachel Maddow show on Thursday October 20 and she showed a clip of an interview that was held about four years ago with former United States Supreme Court Justice David Souter. In that interview Justice Souter said that he was not worried about some other country invading America and destroying our Republic. And he was not worried about some internal coup by our armed forces. Instead, he said, I am worried about the American people not knowing who to blame and hold accountable. Because I have faith in the American people and their desire to do what is right, I am confident that if they know who to blame they will hold them to account.

He continued. People don’t understand how government can and should work and when government does not function as it can or should, people don’t know who to blame. My concern is that they will not know who to blame and when problems are not addressed and get to be too many or too much, someone will come in and promise to resolve all of their problems if they will give him total power.

In closing he said; so all of this is a product of ignorance and you cannot keep a Republic with too much civic ignorance. This is what you should worry about. We should do something about civic ignorance, he said.

All of us should think about what Justice Souter said and juxtapose it to who Donald J. Trump really is; we should juxtapose it to Mr. Trump’s behavior and rhetoric. Then, before we cast our ballot we should seriously consider how important it really is not only to our future but to the future of our children and grandchildren and to the future of America.

Donald J. Trump is not the person that America needs to lead us forward. Whether or not you agree with me and whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent always remember, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line