Category Archives: Congress

Can we hope?

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Rumors of a political coup against Speaker of the House John Boehner (D-OH) arose when his partner-in-crime, Mitch McConnell caved on the DHS funding bill. Those rumors haven’t gone away. In fact, they’ve increased after Boehner pushed a DHS funding bill that included funding for Obama’s illegal alien amnesty. Boehner was able to do so by relying on his democrat partners who voted en masse for the bill. Only 75 ‘Pubs followed Boehner. All the remaining ‘Pubs, 167 of them, did not.

House Republicans weigh coup against Boehner after series of political defeats

Retreat in Homeland Security shutdown showdown latest embarrassment for GOP leaders

By S.A. Miller – The Washington Times – Thursday, March 5, 2015

Rank-and-file Republicans are openly contemplating a coup against House Speaker John A. Boehner and his top lieutenants after a series of self-inflicted legislative fumbles and political defeats in the first weeks of the congressional session.

This week’s retreat from the standoff over Homeland Security Department funding and President Obama’s deportation amnesty was only the latest embarrassment for Republican leaders, who also have had to yank bills on abortion, border security and education after rebellions within their own party.

Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland Republican, conceded that running the conference was like “herding cats” but said that is not an excuse for failure.

“I’m still optimistic that leadership can herd the cats. But if they can’t, then I think there will be consideration about whether a new leadership team needs to be put in place,” Mr. Harris said.

The leaders have acknowledged stumbles at the opening of the congressional session, when Republicans took control of the Senate as well as the House and members had high expectations for advancing a conservative agenda. But leaders have insisted that they don’t need dramatic changes in how they run the conference, a Republican aide said.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, prides himself on having an open-door policy and listening to members, but conservative lawmakers say the leadership team hasn’t been listening to them or their constituents.

“I don’t think they are listening to all the members,” said Rep. John Fleming, a member of a small band of lawmakers who formed the conservative Freedom Caucus and have been at the center of rebellions against the leadership.

He said the party leaders haven’t kept up with an increasingly conservative Republican base that is electing lawmakers who are more conservative.

“The problem is we are used to being in this moderate lane and the people, our constituents who are sending us here, are trying to move us over into the more conservative lane,” said the Louisiana Republican. “I think the struggle is that leadership has not yet picked up the trim line that they need to put out more conservative legislation to get better results.”

Supporters of the leadership team blame the dysfunction on conservatives such as Mr. Fleming, who they say sabotage good legislation by demanding perfect bills and ideological purity.

“Our problem isn’t leadership around here; it’s followership,” said Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican who is a close ally of Mr. Boehner.

“We have a group of people who, frankly, think they are always right and their leaders and the conference collectively are usually wrong,” he said. “It’s actually a fairly small group.”

Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican, put it more bluntly: “I don’t consider them conservatives. I consider them anarchists.

“The whole party is going to suffer, not just the leadership, all of us are going to suffer if we can’t get more organized. But I don’t know if that group of about 35 wants to be organized. It’s almost as if they sit by themselves in the floor there — like a separate party, like in France or Italy where you have the rump parties out there,” Mr. King said.

Apparently Representatives Cole, Fleming and King think the conservatives should shut-up and be quiet. They believe those rebelling congressmen should say and do nothing because, “Big Brother knows best!” No other contrary opinions will be allowed.

The column continues on a second page with a list of bills that were pulled after objections from conservatives. Those bills have yet to be refiled.

As an aside, there is a reason why Peter King has been elected from a heavily liberal district. He’s more progressive than any of the democrat candidates who ran against him. He has been and still is a subversive vote among the ‘Pub ranks.

The column continues.

Not all of the leadership’s dust-ups have been with conservatives.

The first blunder occurred with a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with an exception for cases of reported rape, incest or danger to the mother’s life. The leaders pulled the bill Jan. 21 to head off a revolt by some of the conference’s female and moderate members.

“We’re continuing to listen to everybody,” Mr. McCarthy said at the time. “We’re still planning on moving forward with the bill.”

The bill has yet to return.

A week later, a border security bill was pulled amid complaints from conservatives that it was too weak. The legislation is expected to return combined with other bills that beef up interior enforcement of immigration laws.

The third bill pulled off the floor would have rolled back parts of the No Child Left Behind Act, but conservatives balked that it didn’t do enough to get the federal government out of education.

Mr. Fleming said the education bill underscored the disconnect between Republican congressional leaders and voters.

“That’s the reason why there is frustration out there,” he said. “Time and time again, our constituents are telling us, ‘No, we don’t want federal mandating on school education. We want that left to the states.’ And yet somehow there are people who are making decisions up here who think that, ‘No, we just need to have just a little less federal control but not hand it over to the states.’”

Still, Mr. Cole said the Republican conference isn’t going to oust its leadership team.

“People really recognize that the problem is in the culture of the conference; it’s not with the leadership of the conference. So we have to work through this as a family and get to a point where we all — or at least 218 of us — are willing to work together,” he said. “If you can’t do that, you’re going to have a hard time accomplishing the things you said you wanted to do when you came here.”

The two Representatives quoted in the Washington Times, Tom Cole and John Fleming, think the differences between the House conservatives and the ‘leadership’ is just a family squabble. They are wrong! It is the difference between saving the nation as it should and must be, or allowing the country to continue its slide into tyranny and civil war. The House leadership are no friends of ours. They’re on the same side as the democrats and liberals that infest the nation’s capital.

 

 

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Retaliation

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If you thought the GOP establishment would accept the flood of new conservatives in Congress, you were wrong. McConnell, et. al., is already planning to remove leading conservative Senators. Ted Cruz is too strong in Texas, but Mike Lee of Utah is perceived to be weaker.

They’re Coming for Mike Lee

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  December 22nd, 2014 at 12:50 PM

It is extremely notable that Manu Raju of the Politico has written that the establishment intends to destroy Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)See Full Scorecard97%. Raju serves as the court stenographer for the Senate GOP leadership. His pieces are routinely littered with the conventional wisdom and talking points of the Senate GOP leadership. He has more than once anticipated Senate GOP leadership strategy based on their conversations with him.

So when Manu Raju says the establishment intends to go on offense against the tea party by beating Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)97% in the Utah Republican Primary, we can be sure Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)67%, the NRSC, etc. will be stepping aside and failing to give Lee the support they gave Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)51%, etc.

Of note, the story focuses on Jon Huntsman, Sr., who remains well respected in Utah. Huntsman, you will recall, is the man who spread the rumors about Herman Cain in 2012, in an effort to help his son, Jon Huntsman the lesser, run for President. All he managed to accomplish was taking out Herman Cain and getting his granddaughter an MSNBC show.
But Huntsman is clearly planning on destroying Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)97% to gain a tea party scalp and the GOP establishment in D.C. clearly plans on standing aside to let it happen.

You can read the entire article by following this link.

One interesting portion of the article is the involvement of the Huntsman family. John Huntsman was a candidate for President in 2012. As the campaign progressed, his views aligned him more with Obama and the democrats that with any of the remaining GOP candidates. In the end, it became clear that Huntsman’s purpose in the campaign was the disruption of the other GOP candidates instead of a true run for the Presidency. With the Huntsman family deep pockets, Mike Lee will be the underdog in funding his re-election to the Senate.

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Bill de Blasio and Al Sharpton have been accused with fomenting the tension that led to the murders of two New York police officers. When New York Mayor de Blasio attended a memorial service for the two officers, many of the officers attending turned their backs to the Mayor.

Former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said, “They [de Blasio and Sharpton] have blood on their hands.”  The statement appeared in an article appearing in The American Thinker. De Blasio’s relations with the NYPD continue to deteriorate. With growing pro-police pressure, de Blasio attempted to step back and issued a statement pleading for a cessation of the anti-police protests. Al Sharpton, one of the protest leaders, refused.

The growing disruption is a creation of the media and of charlatans like Sharpton. They claim Eric Garner was choked to death while being arrested. He was not. Eric Garner died of natural causes, a heart attack, an hour after being arrested due to his own health issues. You won’t learn that in the media. No, you have to review the coroner’s reports because the media ignored that vital piece of information. The Coroner blamed the cops before the Grand Jury, but when the report was examined, it said otherwise.

The misinformation by the media and their liberal accomplices are slowly coming to light. Generations of Americans have been mislead by the liberal controlled media. Some members of the black community are beginning to realize they’ve been lied to for decades. Follow the link. It is an interesting read.

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Now what?

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The elections are over. The ‘Pubs have won and many of the new ‘Pubs at the state, local and federal level are new conservatives who subscribe to the same values as that of the various Tea Party groups.

We won and everything that we want will happen, right? No, unfortunately, they won’t…at least not immediately. Missouri had some significant wins. The Missouri House now numbers 118 ‘Pubs including a former dem, almost a DINO, who flipped parties after being re-elected unopposed. The ‘Pubs also maintained their possession of the Missouri Senate increasing their veto-proof numbers from 24 to 25. That’s bad news for Jay Nixon’s last two years in office.

Nixon’s will have more problems going forward due to the passage of Missouri Amendment #10. That amendment restricts Nixon’s ability to withhold funds allocated and approved by the legislature—like funds for Education. Nixon’s excuse is the need to have a balanced budget, another state constitutional requirement. However, Nixon’s authority to withhold funds has been a club, punishing some at the expense of others while shifting funds to other, ‘more praise-worthy’ agencies. He withheld education funds while other dems and the NEA claimed that Education was underfunded. The truth was that Education was well funded but Nixon refused to release the money.

It became apparent that Nixon’s refusal to release funds was a political ploy when, after the election, he released some of the funds he had withheld. Nixon continues to use the excuse of insufficient revenues. However, Nixon’s projections conflicts with the projections made by the legislature as part of their due-diligence when they created the budget. Missouri’s revenues continually reach higher levels that Nixon’s projections. I would suggest Nixon fire his economic advisers and hire the ones used by the legislature.

Getting back to today’s topic, the ‘Pubs have won. Now what?

That is a good question. All too many think change can be made immediately, overnight. Well, that isn’t going to happen. Missouri is much more likely to enact more change than the ‘Pubs in Washington. The Missouri ‘Pubs have veto-proof majorities in both houses of the legislature. In Washington, only the House has a veto-proof majority. The Senate ‘Pubs only have a simple majority.

The bare truth is the the ‘Pub majority in Congress cannot override Obama’s veto. They can cut short Obama’s political appointments. Thanks to Harry Reid’s use of the Nuclear Option, the ‘Pubs don’t require a 60-vote majority for passage. (There is a push by the dems and some RINOs to reinstate that Nuclear Option. There is also a ground-swell of opposition to maintain Reid’s change. What was good for the dems should now be good for the ‘Pubs.)

Regardless, immediate change won’t happen. Obamacare won’t be repealed. Obama will veto any bill to repeal it and there aren’t enough votes to override Obama’s veto.

Mitch McConnell has already surrendered Congress’ primary weapon, the power of the purse. In an interview after Tuesday’s election, he was asked by a lib reporter if the ‘Pubs were going to shut down the government again. Instead of saying the Congress was going to send Obama a budget, the first in six years, if Obama vetos that budget, it would be him, not the ‘Pubs who would be shutting down the government. Instead, McConnell said he would cave in to Obama and the dems. If McConnell won’t use the power of the purse to carve off chunks of Obamacare, he concedes power to the liberals. The power of the purse is the only real power Congress has over the Executive…and Judicial branches.

So, what can be done? The voters won’t have any leverage now until 2016 and the RNC fought hard against their base to maintain their control of the party in this last election.

The first thing is to nominate a conservative for President, like Ted Cruz, and get him elected as President—WHILE MAINTAINING THE ‘PUB MAJORITY IN CONGRESS. Then, like Obama’s first two years in office, the ‘Pubs can pass and/or repeal bills and have a President in office who will sign them. Remember, it was a democrat controlled Congress and a democrat President that passed Obamacare, Dodd-Franks, and expanded the regulatory reach of government agencies. It will take the same degree of control to reverse those acts.

We have made progress in regaining control from the liberals. The ‘Pubs control more statehouses and governorships than ever before. 

We need to take control of Washington and keep that control while removing the built-up tyranny of federal agencies and federal judgeships across the country. We see every day acts of lawfare by liberals using federal judges to make changes the libs cannot make by legislative action. It is those judges who must be removed, one by one, to reverse the liberal corruption of our nation and culture.

As I said once before, “Rot begins at the head, recovery begins from the bottom.” With control of the state legislatures, we can make change via a Convention of States, if necessary, that will curtail progressivism and socialism before they become fatal. That is a last resort. In the mean time, let’s make all the change we can with the political power we have. If that means McConnell must go as Senate Majority Leader, let’s make it so.

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Another chip gone.

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Chip? What chip? It is a chip off the stone of GOP solidarity. Boehner and McConnell, in order to preserve their political futures, have started a war they cannot win. In the short term, as the GOP continues to fragment, the only winners are the democrats. In the long term…who knows. The real question is whether, when all the chips have fallen, will there be anything to rebuild—of the nation and the Constitution?

The Ryan-Murray budget ‘deal’ is another chip off that rock of GOP solidarity. Ryan, Boehner and the rest of the Washington establishment are willing to risk everything to avoid confrontation before the 2014 elections. Instead, they have risked the entire country to gain a little time.

What Ryan, Boehner, Cantor, McConnell and the others have done is to increasingly solidify the opposition of conservatives against them. The article below from the Washington Times supports the reports of growing opposition to the budget deal.

All-out war breaks out in GOP over budget

By Jacqueline Klimas and Seth McLaughlin, The Washington Times, Wednesday, December 11, 2013

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio,joined by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., takes reporters' questions, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013, as House Republicans signaled support for a budget deal worked out yesterday between Ryan and Senate Budget Committee Chair Rep. Patty Murray, D-Wash. The budget deal was one of a few major measures left on Congress' to-do list near the end of a bruising year that has produced a partial government shutdown, a flirtation with a first-ever federal default and gridlock on President Obama's agenda. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)Tea party groups and fiscal conservatives wasted no time Wednesday in savaging a bipartisan budget agreement negotiated between House Republicans and Senate Democrats, drawing an unusually angry response from House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.

All sides were rating the winners and losers in the deal struck a day earlier between House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, Washington Democrat. The modest deficit-cutting deal had some sweeteners for defense contractors and oil drillers, while air travelers, federal workers and some corporate executives would take a hit.

But most of the passion focused on the politics of the deal, with Mr. Ryan, Mr. Boehner and the House GOP leadership defending their handiwork from attacks from conservative colleagues on Capitol Hill and from outside groups such as the Club for Growth, Heritage Action and Americans for Prosperity. Critics said the agreement effectively raised taxes in the form of higher fees, failed to restrain entitlement programs and permitted new spending in the short term in exchange for vague promises of long-term cuts.

Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, said in an interview that Republicans sacrificed their biggest point of leverage — the tough “sequester” spending cuts that were already in force — in the rush to get a short-term deal that did not address the long-term costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

“I am against [the deal] from just a basic point that we embarked on a position at the beginning of the year that said, ‘We will keep the sequester in place unless we get to make changes on mandatory spending that will save those program and put the budget on path to balance within the next 10 years,’” Mr. Jordan said.

Added Chris Chocola, president of the fiscally hawkish Club for Growth, “Apparently, there are some Republicans who don’t have the stomach for even relatively small spending reductions that are devoid of budgetary smoke and mirrors. If Republicans work with Democrats to pass this deal, it should surprise no one when Republican voters seek alternatives who actually believe in less spending when they go to the ballot box.”

— Continue reading here.

Unfortunately for fiscal conservatives, Boehner is pushing for a vote on the ‘deal’ as quickly as he can. The vote could take place as early as today and he, Boehner, wants a quick vote to prevent “interference” from conservatives. Heritage Action, Club for Growth and the American’s for Prosperity initiated call-in campaigns yesterday.

The lines are being drawn as more ‘Pubs shift to one side or another. Some will continue to try to sit on the fence, fearing offending one side or the other. Like so many in the months prior to December 1860, they will discover that fence-sitters will be despised by both sides and have support from neither.

Here is some links to addition columns in today’s digital newspapers.

KIBBE: Another Republican budget surrender

The short-term deal will assure long-term overspending — Washington Times

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Budget Agreement Gets Attention from the Tea Party (Video)

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John Boehner rips conservatives for prematurely bashing budget deal, but rushes bill to floor

By PHILIP KLEIN | DECEMBER 11, 2013 AT 5:48 PM(Washington Examiner)

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Budget deal a step backward: Opposing view

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December 11, 2013 at 4:06 pm (The Foundry)

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Boehner’s Outburst Fuels GOP Civil War

The worst speaker of the House and Republican leader in the memory of living men. (PJ Media)

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To say this deal is unliked is an understatement of biblical proportions.

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Tax and Spend

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It’s Fall and two monstrous spending bills will be working their way through Congress. The first is the Continuing Resolution, the democrats spending solution that bypasses the budget process. The second will be the Debt Limit.

Depending on your viewpoint, there has been significant progress on the Continuing Resolution—removing funding for Obamacare. It’s a step but it doesn’t address the validity of Continuing Resolutions as a budget substitute.

Some House conservatives are going further—replacing Obamacare with another system. I haven’t read all the few details yet but I wonder about the wisdom of replacing one horrific government operation with another government operation. The rough outline presented so far retains government-sponsored insurance pool and federal subsidies to selected groups. So far, I have yet to find any substantive improvement in the new bill over Obamacare. Supposedly, the ‘new’ substitute would eliminate some taxes.

Big Whoop!

There’s more to Obamacare than taxes, it is an entire system of federal mandates that robs us of personal choice, selection and plans for our own future.  I would hope the ‘Pub alternative fulfills its hype. Given the leadership of Boehner, Cantor, McConnell, et. al., I have strong doubts.

According to the Heritage Foundation, Boehner has been forced to allow a version of the CR to go forward without Obamacare funding. That limited CR will go to the Senate where Harry Reid will stick Obamacare funding back into the CR. It will then return to the House where dems hope Boehner will cave and allow the funding to remain.

At best, the CR will ping-pong back and forth, from the House removing Obamacare funding, to the Senate that restores it until one side blinks. The dems hope, and I expect, that side will be the ‘Pubs. The way to end that cycle is to remove RINOs like Boehner, Cantor and McConnell from any leadership role in Congress and come the primaries, send them home—permanently.

The other spending bill is the increase of the nation’s debt limit. Obama wants us to believe, 'RAISING DEBT CEILING DOES NOT INCREASE OUR DEBT'. Yeah, and pull my other finger while you’re at it. We know now that we cannot believe anything from the pathological liar in the White House.

Obama and the dems both claim that failure to pass either bill, the CR or increase the debt limit, will shutdown the government. Many of us think that would be a good thing. We note that the government shuts down every weekend. We have sufficient income to pay the basic bills, pay for the entitlements of Social Security and Medicare, meet our debt and interest payments, and maintain the vital departments, such as Defense.

The dems disagree and if any spending cuts were made, they would target Defense and the vital programs of government instead of weaning the parasite class that keeps the dems in power.  Boehner and the GOP establishment are preparing to sell us out again by agreeing to a 1-year increase of the debt limit. John Boehner is morphing into Obama—you can’t believe a word that come out of his mouth.

In the end, if either bill passes both Houses of Congress with no funding for Obamacare, Obama will veto it. Next he’ll shutdown the government and blame the ‘Pubs. We know what happens next. The ‘Pubs get weak-kneed and give in.

Am I confident we’ll be able to defund Obamacare? No. The track record has been established in Washington beginning in the early Bush administration. Whenever a tough decision is required from the ‘Pubs, they will duck and weave and give in to the dems. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and other conservatives are fighting this record and practice. Unfortunately, they are outnumbered by the weak-willed and the ‘Pub democrat-lite members of Congress.

Yes, it is a pessimistic day.

The Political Season is starting

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A friend has announced he’s running for State Representative. The current Rep for that district, a ‘Pub who accepted union money and assistance and who refuses to commit to overriding Governor Nixon’s vetos, has decided to not run again. He is in his third term of the four allowed him by our term limits. I think he knows he’d have a primary fight if he ran again and no guarantee of winning.

Bondon announces run for House seat, Molendorp decides against running again

August 07, 2013 / by /

ST. LOUIS — Jack Bondon Jr., a Republican from Belton, Mo., filed as a candidate for the 56th House District Wednesday morning.

[Belton] Bondon [sic], 32, is the Vice President of Berbiglia Wine and Spirits, a company that was involved in the “liquor war” issue during the past session.

Rep. Chris Molendorp, who currently occupies the 56th District seat, confirmed with The Missouri Times that he doesn’t intend to seek reelection.

I wish I could vote for Jack Bondon. Unfortunately, I’m in another District. I’ll have to settle for helping “by alternate means.” The Primary will be next summer, the general election in November of 2014. Time accelerates when the Political Season begins.

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Boehner is at it again. He has a new plan to pass the Immigration Bill. Instead of presenting the Senate’s bill as-is, he’ll break it up and attempt to pass it piece-meal…under the radar of the ‘Pub base who oppose the Democrat Voter Recruitment bill in any form.

The August Amnesty End-Run Around the Conservative Base

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary),  August 7th, 2013 at 03:31 PM

One difference between the two major parties is that Democrats harness the energy of their base to fight legislative battles; Republicans make end-runs around their base to obviate their energy.

Let’s examine the GOP’s strategy for dealing with immigration.  Instead of harnessing their energy to fight amnesty and hang it around the necks of Democrats in the red state electoral landscape next year, they are trying to outflank the conservative base with subterfuge in order to pass amnesty.  National Journal has an inside story of the strategy:

House Republicans head home for the August break having done little to pass immigration reform, falling well short of Speaker John Boehner’s goal of voting on legislation before next week’s monthlong recess begins. But far from a failure of leadership, top House Republicans are casting the inaction as a tactical play designed to boost reform’s chances.

Keeping immigration on the back-burner helps avoid a recess filled with angry town-hall meetings reminiscent of the heated August 2009 protests where the backlash against health care reform coalesced. Doing nothing also starves Democrats of a target, Republicans argue.

“August was a central part of our discussions. People don’t want to go home and get screamed at,” a House GOP leadership aide said.

Just in case Members get screamed at by some Tea Party leaders, leadership has put out an amnesty kit to help propagate Obama’s talking points.  Neil Munro of Daily Caller has the details:

Instead, the 24-page document highlights the House leadership’s strategy of reassuring GOP supporters with a step-by-step approach to passage of a comprehensive bill. This strategy highlights popular proposals for enhanced border security, but obscures the fact that any bill must be reconciled with the demands by Democrats for increased immigration of low-skill immigrants.

Judiciary “Chairman [Bob] Goodlatte believes that enforcement needs to come first before any legalization happens, and the immigration August recess packet makes that clear,” said an aide at the judiciary committee.

The talking points document touts the drafting of some popular immigration legislation that would boost enforcement of immigration laws in workplaces, borders and airports. It also provides a favorable description of bills favored by the GOP’s business interests, which would provide an amnesty to many illegal immigrants, and also increase the annual inflow of skilled guest-workers and immigrants.

As I noted last week, we’re in a sorry state when we can’t even pass good bills for fear that leadership will use them as shell games to up-end us with amnesty first.  And in another ‘see, I told you so’ moment, take a look at what Chuck Schumer had to say about this “step by step” approach of House leadership.

“We would much prefer a big comprehensive bill, but any way that the House can get there is OK by us,” Schumer told CNN Wednesday. “I actually am optimistic that we will get this done.”

The fix is in.  And remember, once this bill arrives in the Senate, we all know that Mitch McConnell will work in the shadows to ensure that McCain and Graham adulterate the House bills with amnesty, albeit without his fingerprints on the deal.

So just in case you thought that Republicans would be spending the August recess plotting how to hang Obamacare around the necks of the Democrats, think again.  They are plotting how to distract the public from Obamacare and join with Schumer to pass amnesty.

It’s becoming clear that the powers that be within the national party are beckoning for a new base of voters.  It’s incumbent upon us to search for new elected Republican leaders.

Whenever Chuck-You Schumer likes a proposal by the ‘Pubs, you know someone is about to sellout to the dems. For the life of me, I fail to understand what advantage the Washington ‘Pub Establishment believes they will gain from this deal? The only answer I can devise is that Boehner, Cantor, McConnell and the rest are paying their dues for a future membership into The Ruling Class.

There is a response building out here in fly-over land. One that our local Congressmen should heed. Various grass root organizations are beginning to fight back. One such targeted Congressmen is our own Vicky Hartzler during the Farm Bill fiasco this summer. Opposition ads are only beginning with the advent of the Political Season.

Rumors are that Vicky Hartzler will have at least one primary opponent…possibly more. Given her record of being an establishment rubber-stamp, she should not assume she’ll automatically be allowed to run for Congress again. If she doesn’t oppose immigration amnesty, doesn’t oppose defunding Obamacare, doesn’t oppose another “Continuing Resolution” that will automatically fund Obamacare, if she doesn’t heed her constituents, she may find herself back on her government subsidized farm…permanently.

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Out of touch

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I sent an e-mail to my U. S. Representative, Vicky Hartzler, on Tuesday of this week asking her to join with other House conservatives and remove John Boehner as Speaker of the House. Ms Hartzler was first elected in 2010 with the assistance of the various Tea Party organizations in her district. With that help from the Tea Party, she sent long-time democrat Ike Skelton home.

However her conservative track record is not as solid as many would like. Case in point. She voted for the USDA bill that expanded the Food Stamp program.

It’s [the Food Stamp program] the fastest growing major program in the United States government. In the year 2000, we spent $20 billion on food stamps nationwide per year. This year it’s $80 billion. Last year it was $80 billion. It’s gone up fourfold in 10 years… It’s increasing every year and virtually every month. The most recent report in September had one of the largest increases in history, another 600,000 added to the rolls, totaling now 47.7 million people, one out of every six Americans receiving food stamps… — Committee on the Budget, US Senate.

The wild expansion of Food Stamps and the consequence increase of federal spending is not supported by conservatives of any stripe. Her vote upset many of her supporters. Frankly, this slipped past me. Research on another topic recently lead me to this and other votes by Ms Hartzler that is not consistent with conservative principles.  Unfortunately, those votes were consistent with the agenda of the ‘Pub establishment in Washington.

But Vicky Hartzler’s voting record is not the subject of this post. Her communications with her constituents, their concerns and how closely she monitors those concerns are. Here is the text of an email I sent Ms Hartzler earlier this week. I was greatly upset with the actions…or rather the record of liberal compliance, of John Boehner. I asked her to join with other conservative Representatives to remove John Boehner as Speaker.  Here is the text of that email.

Ms Hartzler, I’ve met you briefly at a number of events, the most recent at the Cass County Republican Christmas party.

I’m writing you to urge your support in removing John Boehner from his post as Speaker of the House. Representative Boehner has exhibited none of the qualities we need at this time as Speaker. He lacks leadership, fighting more often against members of his own party than he has our opponents. When push comes to shove against Obama and the democrats, he folds. Just review his activities with holding the debt limit. He has folded at every instance.

We cannot continue along this path. There are a number of strong conservatives who have the leadership abilities, the backbone to stand against Obama and the continuing demands for more taxes, more spending, more debt.

This cannot continue.

I urge you to support Paul Ryan as the next Speaker of the House. I know he is the Chairman of the House Budget Committee as you will be next year. He is needed more in the position of Speaker than as Chairman of the committee.

Please join the other conservative members of the House and remove John Boehner. He has failed in every issue that has come forward. Instead of supporting taxpayers, he has retaliated against those Representatives who do support less spending, fewer taxes and smaller government.

Thank you,

Mike Watson
Raymore, MO

It may not have been the most literate message but the subject of this email could not have been misunderstood. I received a response yesterday.

Dear Thomas,

Thank you for contacting me about the “fiscal cliff,” the looming increase in tax rates combined with deep cuts to defense and discretionary spending. Current tax rates on personal income and investment are due to expire December 31, 2012, immediately slamming individuals, families, senior citizens,  entrepreneurs, and business owners with tax increases. Simultaneously, automatic, across-the-board spending cuts (also known as “sequestration”) will occur on January 2, 2013, hitting the military with cuts that will jeopardize our readiness and defense capabilities. 

Allowing our country to go over the “fiscal cliff” would devastate our struggling economy and harm our long term recovery. I share your concerns and frustrations that we have reached this point of crisis after months of intense debate over how to address our country’s out of control national debt. Please know that I am committed to finding common ground to avoid the crisis and to protect families and businesses from huge tax increases. 

I have voted repeatedly throughout 2012 for legislation that would avoid the “fiscal cliff” by extending current tax rates and cutting waste in federal programs in order to pay for sequestration; yet, the Senate has failed to pass or even discuss the proposals put forth by the House. Now is the time for straightforward leadership from the President. The House has put forth multiple plans for replacing the sequester and beginning serious tax reform; we now wait for the President to present his plan so that meaningful discussions can begin and common ground can be found. Talk is not enough; the President must provide a framework to avert the crisis so negotiations can take place in good faith. 

Above all, it is time for an honest conversation with the American people. Under both Republican and Democratic leaders, our country has spent far more than it has, racking up an unprecedented $16 trillion in national debt. Even if income tax rates were now hiked to almost 100% for the wealthiest Americans, the federal government would still not have enough revenue to pay for its mandatory spending and budget commitments. And, raising tax rates would hurt businesses, destroy jobs, and wipe out long term economic growth. This reality underscores the fact that we must reassess what the federal government’s role should be and how it can be limited so we can preserve our country and prevent economic collapse. Our situation calls for urgency and honesty. 

I am committed and eager to begin substantive talks to implement a solution to this crisis, and I await serious action by the President to join this conversation. I and my Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives have passed several bills (H.R. 8, H.R. 5652, and H.R. 6365) any of which could serve as starting points for negotiation. While listening to your input and views, I will continue to work diligently in the coming weeks to avert the fiscal crisis facing our country. Again, thank you for contacting me on this serious matter. It is a privilege to work on your behalf.  

With best regards, I remain,

                                                    Very truly yours,
                                                                                 
                                   Vicky Hartzler
                                   Member of Congress

Obviously, this is an automated response concerning the issue du jour and really says nothing. I’m not surprised by an automated acknowledgment of my email. That is common practice today. However, I did expect that “some” human eye would read my message and respond accordingly. That, apparently, is too much effort.

I know that our congressmen are busy and usually have canned responses when they get constituent messages on the same subject. What really upset me was her response had nothing to do with removing John Boehner.

Perhaps in 2014, it’s time for Ms Hartzler to have a conservative opponent in the primary. One more in touch with their constituents and not a rubber-stamp of the ‘Pub establishment.

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