Category Archives: RINO

Grrr!

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Some statements just make me want to reach for tar, feathers and a splinter-covered rail. The statement below by a so-called ‘Pub who wants to run for Governor would be a fine subject of scorn, tar and feathers.

RTW DAY? — ‘Mike Parson supports right-to-work, but questions Senate’s approach,’ PoliticMo: “State Sen. Mike Parson, a Republican who wants to be Missouri’s next governor, said Monday he thinks “right to work” is worth giving a shot. But, in an interview Monday, Parson did question why Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard, R-Joplin, was pushing the issue so hard ahead of a likely veto by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

“‘If you can’t get it across the finish line, you have to weigh out why you’re doing it…Can we get this done and get an override over the governor after he vetoes, and can you not? I think that as to be part of the equation. I hope people have thought that through.’ …  Parson, who chaired the committee that passed a House “right-to-work” bill on Monday, said he will vote for the bill, but would not say whether he would support a rarely used motion to cut off debate and force an end to an imminent Democratic filibuster. At Monday’s hearing, Parson said he was “surprised there weren’t more to testify in favor of it,” but still feels the policy is good for the state. — PoliticMO, May 12, 2015.

What Parson really said, “since Nixon will veto RTW, why bother.” If that is Parson’s attitude, he has no business holding an elective office. If RTW is passed quickly, and Nixon vetoes it as expected, we could have time to override Nixon’s veto this session instead of trooping back to do it in September.

The Legislature has already over-turned one of Nixon’s vetoes this year. Taken in context, it’s easy to interpret what Parson wants. He wants RTW to fail to satisfy his union buddies; he just doesn’t want to be blamed for its failure to pass.

Senator Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles) is using his daughter as an excuse for not voting for RTW. Like Parson, Dempsey doesn’t want RTW to pass, either; he’s in bed with the St. Louis unions.

By the way, is Dempsey term limited yet? I surely hope so.

‘Daughter’s graduation means a top Missouri Republican will miss end of session,’ Post-Dispatch: “Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, tweeted Monday that he will miss the last two days of session to attend his daughter, Meaghan’s, graduation from Tulane University in New Orleans. The session ends May 15. … In the past, Dempsey has said he won’t actively push the bill but also won’t stand in the way of it coming up on the floor.“ — St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

As PoliticMO suggests, perhaps an alternate headline for that piece in the Post-Dispatch should be, “Area man who opposes right to work relieved!”

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I suppose this section could be labeled, “What’s good for the Goose, is good for the Gander.” We have all heard about the Clinton Family Foundation, or, the Clinton Crime Family Foundation as some call it. It is a supposed non-profit organization that is really a money laundering scheme of the Clinton’s. It is an avenue for bribes to Hillary when she was SecState.

Now it appears that Jeb Bush may be following in Hillary’s footsteps. He, too, has created a non-profit foundation. We don’t yet know if it will be an avenue for illegal money laundering like the Clinton’s. On the other hand, Jeb does seem to be following closely in hHillary’s footsteps.

A nonprofit group allied with former Florida governor Jeb Bush is playing a more expansive role in his current political operation than previously known, housing several top policy advisers who are expected to join his eventual campaign, according to people familiar with the structure.

At least four people with expertise on energy issues, foreign affairs and communications are working with Right to Rise Policy Solutions, a nonprofit advocacy group that can accept secret, unlimited donations from individuals and corporations.

Bush’s reliance on the non­profit as he prepares for a likely presidential bid puts him on untested legal ground, cloaking who is paying the salaries of his expected advisers. But a polarized Federal Election Commission is unlikely to scrutinize the maneuver, campaign finance experts said.

The latest hire was announced Monday: Michael Steel, a top spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), said that he was moving to Florida to take a role with the nonprofit group. If Bush officially launches a presidential campaign, Steel would join it, according to people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to speak publicly. — The Washington Post.

Jeb got himself in trouble during an interview on FOX with Megan Kelly. She asked him if he, Jeb, would support the 2003 invasion of Iraq if he knew what would follow. Jeb said, “I would.” Shortly thereafter, Jeb’s handlers were scurrying about trying to walk back Jeb’s statement. They attempted to clarify Jeb’s statement saying, “the former Florida governor misunderstood the framing of the question – ‘knowing what we know now’ – and instead focused on the less controversial issue of whether he believed his brother acted rightly given the available information at the time.” Source: FOX News. The whole episode reminds me of the old comedy routine, reminiscent of Saigon’s “5 O’Clock Follies,” called, “What the General means…“

Dig, deeper, Jeb. Dig deeper and reveal more of your liberal core values.

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Yawwwwn, Part II

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Did it again today…overslept, that is. This time I think I’m caught up. I think.

The unfortunate part of oversleeping is that my To-Do list hasn’t shrunk. I’ve a number of tasks to do and with oversleeping, my allotted time for a post is gone.

So this will be quick.

News item: Our newly elected democrat Speaker of the US House is using the age-old tactic of his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi. He’s pushing a Continuing Resolution that will fully fund Obama’s illegal Alien Amnesty Executive Order and fully fund Obamacare. John Boehner (D-OH), is counting on Nancy Pelosi’s aid and her democrat House members to override the objections of the ‘Pub conservatives in the House.

Conservatives complain House GOP leaders ramming through spending bill

By Scott Wong – 12/06/14 06:00 AM EST

House conservatives are griping that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is putting the squeeze on them by rushing through a $1 trillion spending bill in Congress’s last week in session.

Appropriators are expected to roll out the legislation early next week, giving critics scant time to figure out what’s inside before they cast their votes by the end of the week. The government would shut down on Dec. 12 without a new funding bill.

“Here we are doing the appropriations bill the last couple days” before a government shutdown, conservative Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) said in an interview this week. “That’s not to squeeze Harry Reid. That’s to squeeze us.”

Boehner critics say there’s no reason the Speaker couldn’t have brought the spending package to the floor this past week, giving the House more time to consider it.

But doing so would also give more time for the right to build a case against it.

“They don’t want you to read it, that’s why! You think they want you to analyze all the mischievous items in there?” Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.)  told The Hill.

Asked if the timing of the plan was aimed at jamming the Senate or House conservatives, Jones replied: “I think its aimed at screwing over the American people. You can quote me on that.”

Pushing a government funding bill through Congress at the 11th hour is nothing new.

What’s striking this time, however, is that Boehner and outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are mostly in agreement on how to do it.

And the Speaker, fresh off a big midterm victory, seems in no mood to kowtow to conservatives who’ve been agitating for a lame-duck spending fight to stop President Obama’s executive action on immigration.

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said the legislation will be unveiled on Monday, setting up a likely House vote on Wednesday — just one day before money runs out for the government.

Boehner and Rogers blame the Senate for the bill’s timing.

The House passed seven of the 12 appropriations bills this Congress, while eleven passed out of committee. The Senate passed zero.

“And as a result, it makes it that much more difficult to come to an agreement with the Senate on an omnibus appropriations package,” Boehner told reporters on Thursday.

Rogers also pointed the finger at the upper chamber and said House negotiators were doing “the best we can.”

“Look, we were given less than a month to put an omnibus bill together for the entire government for the entire year — it’s a trillion plus dollars with thousands of items,” Rogers said. “And since the Senate did not pass any of the appropriations bills, it forced us to put together an omnibus.”

While work on the package will continue this weekend, the general framework is known.

Most of the government will be funded in an 11-bill omnibus running through the end of the fiscal year in September. The Homeland Security Department would be kept on a shorter leash, funded with a short-term continuing resolution that would keep money flowing only until February. The combination is being called the “cromnibus.”

The short-term funding for Homeland Security is intended to push the fight over Obama’s immigration actions into next year, when Republicans will control both chambers of Congress.

Boehner signaled it’s unlikely he’ll make any significant changes to the package’s framework, ignoring demands by immigration hard-liners to include language to de-fund the implementation of Obama’s immigration actions, which could give legal status to up to five million undocumented workers.

GOP leaders appear to have much of their conference behind them, though many conservatives are expected to vote no.

“I think the fix is in,” Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) told The Hill.

He wanted GOP leaders to bring the spending package to the floor this past week with stronger immigration language. That way, the House would have had time to respond to any changes the Senate made to the legislation.

Boehner instead called a vote Thursday on a messaging bill that rebukes Obama’s immigration move, a measure the Senate will not take up.

“I’ve implored them. I’ve begged them. I’ve spoken in various meetings so that we wouldn’t be up against some crisis. … This is not the way it’s supposed to be done,” Salmon said.

Some conservatives acknowledge that they’ll have no chance of blocking the cromnibus if House Democrats decide to get on board. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned Republicans Friday not to bog down the package with “destructive” riders, including proposals to roll back environmental regulations or halt a new law that legalizes marijuana in D.C.

But sources in both parties said they expect a good number of Democrats to cross the aisle and vote for the spending plan in the end. Especially since it’s based on months of work from House and Senate appropriators from both parties.  

“I believe we need to fund the government through Sept. 30. If not, it will be very chaotic next year,” said retiring Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.), a House appropriator who is leaning toward voting for the plan. “An omnibus bill is a lot better than a CR or continuing resolution. So this is the best of two worlds.”

What are we seeing from Washington? Both the House and the Senate are still controlled by democrats.

Conservatives across the country are calling their US Representatives and Senators, asking, begging, pleading, demanding they vote against this rush to fund Obama’s unconstitutional acts. How will you vote, Representative Vicky Hartzler? Will you oppose this democrat tactic or will you, once again, act like an establishment rubber stamp?

Regardless how you vote, Vicky, it will be remembered come 2016.

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It’s on! Veto Override Session

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I had hoped to go to Jeff City this morning to do some politicin’. Well…I didn’t. I’ve been running on a sleep deficit for several days and it caught up with me last night. I woke up at 9:15am and it is a three-hour drive to Jeff City.

I’ve been urging folks to go to Jeff City and lobby their legislators on a number of bills, SB 656 for one, the Armed Teacher bill. There are more on the block if the backer’s can get 2/3rds of the House and Senate to override Nixon’s veto.

Eli Yokley’s PoliticMO Newsletter has this to say.

VETO SESH — the budget: ‘Missouri legislators look to override $40 million of Nixon cuts at veto session,’ PoliticMo: “When the Missouri House convenes for the first day of veto session tomorrow, they will be faced immediately with dozens of spending items vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon that would cost the state $40 million. Nixon – a Democrat – has framed it as the Republican-controlled legislature opting to “grow government,” noting that their budget included 30 spending items not in the budget he presented. On the other side, the Legislature’s budget leaders said Tuesday Nixon’s priorities are in the wrong place, accusing him of putting his travel expenses above funding for priorities like children and victims of domestic abuse. …  Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, … who was joined by House Budget Committee Chairman Rick Stream, R-St. Louis, was non-specific when asked which items the legislature would specifically address. That information, he said, would be made available after the two budget leaders present their suggestions to members of their party tomorrow morning. Lawmakers will move through the 50 line-items one by one Wednesday morning starting in the House. Stream said debate would be limited in order to move quickly and on to other bills.

“Nixon has indicated that he could very easily turn around and withhold the new spending, especially if lawmakers override his vetoes of what he has depicted as costly sales tax measures. He has already withheld nearly $600 million due to that and sluggish state income. Schaefer said that decision – whether to withhold the money – is one the governor will have to make, but that legislators are planning to proceed with the override effort “to send the message on behalf of Missourians who are in need of these programs that the governor is wrong.'” http://bit.ly/1AyzRHS

— guns: ‘Missouri Republicans push for gun bill victory,’ by the AP’s new Summer Ballentine (@esballentine): “Missouri Republicans are clashing again with Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon on guns, as lawmakers approach a vote today that could overturn his veto of legislation allowing teachers to bring firearms to school and other residents to carry them openly in public. After multiple setbacks, a veto override would mark a victory in Missouri for backers of expanded gun rights. A measure that would have voided federal gun control laws died in the final hours of session this May. Nixon vetoed a similar bill last year that could have subjected federal officers to state criminal charges and lawsuits for attempting to enforce federal gun control laws. Lawmakers passed a less sweeping bill this session that would allow specially trained school employees to carry concealed guns on campuses. The measure also would allow anyone with a concealed-weapons permit to carry their gun openly, even in cities or towns with bans against open carry. …

“Missouri lawmakers’ efforts to pass gun legislation are part of a larger movement among conservative states. After 20 children and six adults died in 2012 during a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, some Republican-led state legislatures, including Missouri’s, fought against stricter gun control laws backed by Democratic President Barack Obama. … David Kopel, an associate policy analyst for the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, said the president’s policies played a powerful role in motivating Second Amendment activism. About 30 states allow the open carrying of guns without a permit, and about 13 others require some sort of license. Kansas in April approved a measure allowing the open carrying of firearms, which, like Missouri, will trump any local bans on open carry. Georgia gun owners can carry firearms openly in more places after the Legislature reduced open-carry restrictions, and lawmakers voted to make Arkansas an open carry state last year.” http://bit.ly/1uvYWT1

— abortion: ‘House speaker advocates for abortion-policy bills on eve of veto session,’ Columbia Missourian: “Speaker of the House Tim Jones had harsh words for Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday as he advocated for House bills 1132 and 1307 on the eve of the legislature’s veto override session.  … Jones said he hoped that the legislature would override the governor’s vetoes on the two bills.  House Bill 1132 establishes a tax credit for contributions to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes and food pantries. House bill 1307 extends the waiting period for a woman considering an abortion from the current 24 hours to 72 hours. … Jones also said of House Bill 1132 that those who wanted to see the bill enacted into law were “simply asking for an extension of the public-private partnership.'” http://bit.ly/1p79qCM

Another veto to overturn is for SB 523, the Student Protection bill sponsored by our own Senator Ed Emory.

This act prohibits school districts from requiring a student to use an identification device that uses radio frequency identification technology to identify the student, transmit information regarding the student, or monitor or track the location of the student. The bill protects our students in public schools from unwanted data surveillance and tracking. This also prohibits the transmission of this data. — Missouri Alliance for Freedom.
The Legislature has already overridden one of Nixon’s vetos this year, the Tax Cut bill, SB 509, vetoed by Nixon early in the 2014 legislative session. The Legislature, promptly overrode Nixon’s veto within a week, if I remember correctly. Now, it’s time to continue that trend.

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The Kansas Senatorial Soap Opera continues—with lawsuits. ‘Independent’ candidate Greg Orman is being sued in Federal court over the failure of his holding company to pay royalties to another company. The suit has been slowly making its way through the legal system since 2012.

Chad Taylor is now suing the state of Kansas—Kris Kobach as Kansas Secretary of State, to get himself removed from the November ballot. It’s a liberal tactic to shift democrat votes who would normally vote for Taylor, to vote for ‘democrat-masquerading-as-an-independent/RINO’ Greg Orman.

Kobach refused to remove Taylor from the ballot citing Kansas law.

Kobach cited a 1997 Kansas statute requiring a withdrawing candidate to declare he or she is “incapable” of serving if elected. Taylor’s letter, Kobach said, referenced the law but did not contain the required language. — Kansas City Star.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article1512707.html#storylink=cpy

According to Kansas law, the only valid reason for candidate withdrawing at this point in the election cycle is if the candidate is incapable of holding the office—such as a severe illness, injury, or sudden mental defect of the candidate. Taylor’s problem is that he has none of these valid reasons for withdrawing. None, that is, than obeying the democrat party’s diktat to quit.

I’m sure Pat Roberts would love to join in. I wouldn’t be surprised if he weren’t checking to see who he can sue to join in on the fun.

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The Good and the Bad (Updated: 6-25-14 @ 3:00pm)

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I like to start out with the good. The Supremes released some decisions this morning, The Supreme Court banned warrantless cell phone searches. It was a win for 4th Amendment and privacy advocates.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that police cannot go snooping through people’s cell phones without a warrant, in a unanimous decision that amounts to a major statement in favor of privacy rights.

Police agencies had argued that searching through the data on cell phones was no different than asking someone to turn out his pockets, but the justices rejected that, saying a cell phone is more fundamental. — The Washington Times.

The decision was unanimous. That alone is striking. The article says the decision is a clear 21st century update of privacy rights. In answer to LEO questions about searching cellphones, Chief Justice Roberts response was simple, “Get a warrant.” This decision now places cellphones—and the information contained within, in the same category as a person’s home.

“The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the unanimous court.

“Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone seized incident to an arrest is accordingly simple— get a warrant.”

Justices even said police cannot check a cellphone’s call log, saying even those contain more information that just phone numbers, and so perusing them is a violation of privacy that can only be justified with a warrant.

The chief justice said cellphones are different not only because people can carry around so much more data — the equivalent of millions of pages of documents — that police would have access to, but that the data itself is qualitatively different than what someone might otherwise carry.

He said it could lay bare someone’s entire personal history, from their medical records to their “specific movements down to the minute.” — The Washington Times.

There is another similar case winding its way to the Supreme Court. In this case, the device is a laptop instead of a cell phone. A similar case that upheld a ‘legal exception,” known as ‘the border search,’ placed restrictions on searching personal tablets and laptops within 100 miles of the US border.

The decision released today is a win for all of us, regardless.

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On the other hand, the bad occurred yesterday in Mississippi. Thad Cochran won the run-off election for the GOP Senatorial candidacy. He did so by asking democrats to illegally cross party lines to vote for him. An estimated 35,000 did so.

Congratulations To The GOP Establishment On Their Pyrrhic Victory In Mississippi Yesterday

Written By : John Hawkins, June 25, 2014

Last night, Thad Cochran beat Chris McDaniel in a primary run-off and became the GOP’s Senate candidate in Mississippi.

It wasn’t an honorable victory.

Cochran won by getting Democrats to vote in a Republican primary. This was done by touting his support of food stamps. It was done by paying “walking around money” to buy votes. It was done by smearing Tea Partiers as racists.

That’s what it took to re-elect a senile 76 year old man that few people even believe is mentally capable of serving out another term in the Senate.

The cost of that victory was the integrity, personal honor and reputations of prominent Cochran supporters like Haley Barbour, Karl Rove, Mitch McConnell, John McCain and the NRSC, who were all undoubtedly congratulating each other on their sleazy victory last night, while today they’ll begin to try to distance themselves from the dishonorable conduct they winked at during the campaign. We may never know which of them was ultimately responsible for smearing Tea Partiers as racists or centering the run-off campaign around getting Democrats to vote in a GOP campaign. But what we do know is that if Haley Barbour, Karl Rove, John McCain or the NRSC found it unacceptable, they could have put their foot down and demanded the campaign put a stop to it. None of them did because they were just fine with using those sort of tactics to defeat grassroots conservatives.

In return, they will probably get their doddering moderate senator elected instead of adding another grassroots conservative in D.C. But, the cost will be millions of turned-off conservatives, fund raising hits for the already failing NRSC, and even more animosity and venom between Tea Partiers and the establishment.

What was it King Pyrrhus said after his “victory” over the Romans that cost him many of his best officers and troops?

“One more such victory and we are lost.”

How many more “victories” like the one Thad Cochran won yesterday can the GOP stand without shattering to pieces?

I call myself a conservative. At the moment, my allegiance is to the GOP…at the moment.

The Cochran-McDaniel primary isn’t over yet. McDaniel has not conceded.

MCDANIEL MAY CONTEST RESULTS
After Cochran sealed the GOP nomination Tuesday night, McDaniel spoke to supporters, but did not concede. Instead he spoke of “dozens of irregularities” in Tuesday’s voting. Supporters told Fox News today that McDaniel’s team was up all night looking into whether his campaign should challenge last night’s results. McDaniel backers accuse Cochran of pandering to black Democrats, an incendiary charge in the state with a freighted recent history on race relations. But Cochran’s outreach to black voters is nothing new. In a piece from 1984, NYT reports, “Mr. Cochran assiduously courted the black vote, flooding black radio stations with advertisements featuring ‘The Harrises, Mississippi’s Favorite Family,’ a fictional black family. To the strains of soap opera music, they debated the campaign and concluded that ‘Thad’s all right’ and ‘the other side is lying about him.’”
 
“There is nothing strange at all about standing as people of faith for our country that we built, that we believe in. But there is something a bit strange, there is something a bit unusual about a Republican primary that is decided by liberal democrats.” –Challenger Chris McDaniel’s election night speech. — FOX News First, By Chris Stirewalt, June 25, 2014.

 

Update: McDaniel will contest the election.

More and more conservatives, Shawn Hannity among them, are calling for a third party. I’m not in that party controlled socialism to corporate socialism, I’ll have to look for an alternative. At times like this, that decision point seems to be getting closer every day.

 

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It is a new day

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…or is it?

http://dailysignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014_06_10_CantorLost.jpg

Yesterday’s Virginia primary had a big upset. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA-7) lost his seat in the primary to challenger and economist Dave Brat. There are numerous articles being published this morning how that happened.

Some pundits say is was a Tea Party victory. In reality, it wasn’t, it was a grassroots victory assisted by some big-name conservatives like Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin. There is a difference.

The national Tea Party organizations like the Tea Party Express and AFP ignored the race assuming, so say some, that Cantor was a shoo-in. Apparently, so did many of Cantor’s supporters because they stayed home and didn’t vote. The turnout was very low, 65,000 out of a population of over a quarter-million.

Cantor’s flip-flops came home. He hadn’t had much opposition since he first won his seat in 2001. He was unopposed until 2010 and 2012. In 2012, he courted the Tea Party and won by 79%. Since then, Cantor turned, vilifying his former supporters and sucking up to the GOP establishment.

David Brat, the winner of the primary against Cantor wrote this statement in an article for the Daily Caller earlier this year.

Congressman Cantor’s profile has been erratic even by Washington standards — flitting from eager establishmentarian coat-holder to self-glorified “Young Gun” and back again. His loyalties, both upward and downward, have shifted in his eager embrace of the Ruling Class. Washington’s only genuine article of faith: maintaining control regardless of how that control affects the life of the folks back home.

Like so many other GOP Representatives, Cantor let ambition override his duty to his constituents. Being elected in a strong, conservative district is no guarantee for incumbents. (Are you listening Vicky Hartzler?) So far this year, we are seeing numerous successful challenges to the GOP establishment, Cantor is one of them.

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The worm turned…in California of all places!

Tenure for teachers in California received a severe blow in court this week. Judge Rolf M. Treu, Los Angeles Superior Court, found five California statues concerning teacher tenure unconstitutional.

Treu found that the statutes permit too many grossly incompetent teachers to remain in classrooms across the state — and found that those teachers shortchange their students by putting them months or years behind their peers in math and reading.

He ruled that such a system violates the state constitution’s guarantee that all children receive “basic equality of educational opportunity.” In a blunt, unsparing 16-page opinion, Treu compared his ruling to the seminal federal desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education, decided 60 years ago last month. “The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience,” Treu wrote. — Politico.

For decades the California educational system has been the prime example was what not to do. With test scores pummeling, teachers fought to block testing, lest it prove the abysmal results of their social engineering agenda.

Test scores should be used to review the effectiveness of education. Too many school districts—and state educational systems, would rather teach the tests than actually educate their students. Systems that do ‘teach the tests’ then blame the tests for their failures to educate. Long before this case, it was evident that local and state education systems were more interested in their own sinecure than teaching.

We will soon hear the howl of outraged teacher unions calling for this judge’s head for speaking truth. Once again, unions have been found to be the refuge of many incompetents. The good teachers will get tarred equally along with the bad. They have no other recourse…California is not a RIght-to-Work state. Teachers are required to join the teachers union if they want to teach.

But that was yesterday. Perhaps…just perhaps the students of California will have a new day now that it will be easier to be rid of the lazy and incompetents in the California school system.

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Milestones

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Missouri House Bill 1439, The Second Amendment Protection Act, passed in the Missouri Senate last night, April 30, 2014, on a vote of 23 to 8. It had passed the House earlier, on April 12, 2014, on a vote of 119 to 41.

According to an email issued by Ron Calzone, the Senate made some language changes that will require another vote in the House. He expects that vote to occur today. The changes are minor language clarifications that do not affect the purpose of the Bill.

April 30, 2014

HB 1439 “passed” in the House 110 to 41 on April 12th, now it has passed the Senate by a vote of 23 to 8. Both votes are enough to override a veto by the Governor.

A few minutes before 7:00 on Wednesday, the Missouri Senate voted 23 to 8 to “third read and pass” HB 1439, the Second Amendment Preservation Act.

Since the Senate made changes to the House version of the bill, the House has to vote on it one more time to accept those changes. If they don’t accept the changes, both the Senate and House will have to vote again.

The Senate made the changes we desired — we put teeth back in the bill and removed the troublesome controlled substances language.

Some other friendly amendments were added prior to taking the bill to the floor, and a couple of technical fixes were added on the floor. Although the changes were not part of the underlying Second Amendment Preservation Act, they are all germane to the bill title and good for gun rights.

The final language of HB 1439, as passed the Senate, will be available here: http://www.house.mo.gov/billsummary.aspx?bill=HB1439&year=2014&code=R in a day or two. Be sure to click on the link that says “Senate Sub”, not “Senate Comm Sub” to get the latest round of amendments.

The SAPA portion of the bill can also be viewed here: http://www.mofirst.org/?page=issues/nullification/SAPA/HB1439-Detailed.php

Hopefully, the House will take up HB 1439 as early as tomorrow and pass it without further amendments – then it can be sent to the Governor

We’ll have more new as it develops.

For liberty,

– Ron

One more milestone passed on the road to full passage in Missouri. The vote totals are important. They show enough support in the Legislature to override Jay Nixon’s expected veto.

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I’m glad a local State Representative won’t be running for office again. Why? Here’s why: He allowed a vote on, and voted for, Medicaid Expansion in Missouri, a requirement for the full implementation of Obamacare.

MEDICAID EXPANSION — ‘Medicaid bill wins symbolic vote, inches forward in Mo. House,’ Virginia Young: “In what Missouri House Insurance Committee Chairman Chris Molendorp acknowledged was a symbolic move, a Medicaid expansion measure gained its first committee endorsement of the year today. Molendorp, R-Belton, and the four Democrats on his committee combined to recommend a wide-ranging bill that would expand the public health insurance system to about 300,000 low-income adults. The vote was 5-2, with five Republicans absent. … The 121-page proposal adopted by the committee is modeled on a plan developed by Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City. It attempts to address GOP opposition to Medicaid expansion by requiring a host of changes, such as photo IDs for food stamp recipients and more transparent billing practices for hospitals. But with only 11 days left in the legislative session and GOP leaders opposed to the bill, it’s unlikely to go any further. Molendorp acknowledged as much after the committee vote. — PoliticMo Email, May 1, 2014.

Molendorp says the passage was symbolic. The truth of the matter is that the proposal should have never reached this point. Missouri can’t afford Medicaid Expansion. The Feds will provide funds for three years. After that, the ENTIRE cost burden would fall on the state. We can’t afford such gross unfunded mandates.

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Impeachment efforts against Governor Jay Nixon reached another milestone yesterday with the completion of public comments in the Missouri House Judiciary Committee. The Committee Chairman, Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia), said he would poll committee members to see if they wanted to vote and move forward.

IMPEACH NIXON? — ‘Mo. House committee considering vote on impeaching Nixon,’ PoliticMo: “The Missouri House Judiciary Committee heard final testimony on Wednesday in favor of resolutions moving to impeach Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. Rep. Stanley Cox, a Sedalia Republican who chairs the committee, said he will now begin meeting with committee members to consider whether to send the resolutions on to the full House. “I’m going to see if there is a majority of the committee that wants to vote,” Cox said. “I haven’t decided how I’m going to vote. I’m going to talk to the other committee and see how they’re going to be.

“The two days of hearings, which began last week, were to hear three Republican-backed resolutions against Nixon. One, sponsored by Rep. Nick Marshall, alleges Nixon violated the Missouri Constitution’s provision banning same-sex marriage in issuing an executive order allowing the Missouri Department of Revenue to accept tax returns from same-sex couples filing jointly with the federal government. It was heard last week. The second, filed by Rep. Mike Moon, was critical of delayed calls for special elections in three vacant House seats. The third, by Rep. Rick Brattin, accused the Nixon administration of releasing private conceal-carry weapons permit source documents to federal authorities. They were heard by the committee on Wednesday. As they did last week, several committee members, including a handful of Republicans, expressed concerns that any legal issue with action from the governor might be better handled in the judicial system. Moon said impeachment hearings are by definition political and should be seen as a constitutional check on the executive branch. … 

“Brattin faced perhaps the most critical reception from the committee. He alleges Nixon’s administration violated privacy concerns in releasing data to the federal government in response to subpoenas, but did not state any specific crime Nixon had committed himself. Instead, Brattin accused Nixon of turning his attention away from the issue and allowing his administration to break the state law banning implementation of REAL ID. But Nixon did act, and let his director of the Department of Revenue go (he resigned at the height of the controversy last year). Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, noted that the court and the state auditor had sided with Nixon on the controversy in noting that he did not break any laws. In other words, two branches of government have sided with Nixon.” http://bit.ly/1fzoDP3 — PoliticMO Newsletter, May 1, 2014

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While this might not be a milestone, it is revealing about the character of John Boehner. The writer of the article below agrees with my statements that I have written over the last few years.

Is John Boehner Stupid, Bought, or Playing for Other Side?

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Something is wrong with the most powerful Republican in the United States Congress. He is either stupid, bought and paid for by crony corporate interests, or he’s on the other side (a Democrat posing as a Republican). Because nothing else explains the news that the GOP intends to pass immigration reform (i.e. amnesty) this year.

Nothing.

You might be wondering how I know it’s “amnesty?” Because to pass it through Harry Reid’s Senate and to avoid a veto from President Barack Obama, it must include some form of amnesty for illegal immigrants (i.e. future Democratic voters). Nothing could ever pass Harry Reid’s Senate that doesn’t include some form of amnesty, allowing Democrats to wear the crown of conquering heroes to the Latino community and therefore garner more votes for Team Obama in November.

Democrats are about to be crushed. They are drowning. They are desperate to shuffle the deck. Why would any sane GOP leader throw them a life preserver?

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer – the ultimate liberal – is winking and nodding on Sunday morning TV shows like it’s a done deal.

Do you think he’s winking because he’s just agreed in the backroom to a deal that hurts Democratic voters? Do you think the president that has, for all intents and purposes halted deportations, would agree to any bill that sells illegal immigrants down the river? If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you in…Mexico.

Now let’s examine why even discussing (let alone passing) any immigration bill is self-destructive, stupid and political suicide for Republicans.

First, Democrats are on the run. They are about to be destroyed in November. Every poll shows it. Every bit of common sense tells the same story. Every conversation with average middle class Americans proves it. Obamacare has ruined Obama and the Democratic Party. The latest poll shows Obama at 41 percent approval.

There are literally no voters left to support Obama who aren’t being bribed with a government check. Just as I reported earlier this year, Obama’s support among the actual taxpayers, business owners and homeowners of America is darn close to zero.

Knowing this, why would the leader of Congressional Republicans want to change the conversation? Why would he want to let Obama off the hook? Why would he discuss anything but Obamacare for the next six months? Doesn’t Boehner want to win? When you’ve got the opposition on the run, why would you lift your boot off their neck? Makes me wonder which team he’s playing for. What about you?

Why wouldn’t any sane GOP leader keep talking Obamacare 24/7 for six months in a row, until the clock runs out? Millions have lost their coverage; millions more have had premiums raised; millions have lost their doctors; everyone that can think is steaming mad.

The vast majority of people who got free insurance from Obamacare are virtually 100 percent government-addicted, welfare-loving, food stamp-loving, dependent Democratic voters. Obama hasn’t picked up one vote. But he’s gotten millions of independents mad as a hornet’s nest.

AP

AP 

To change the conversation now would be dereliction of duty. If this were the military, Gen. Boehner would be relieved of his command and brought up on criminal charges. He is harming his own troops. He is purposely losing the war. He is pulling defeat from the jaws of victory. Who does that?

Secondly, my grandfather taught me about how to treat your loyal customers. He was a successful small business owner. He always said the key to success was “the customer is always right.”

Why would Boehner poke a stick in the eyes of his best customers? Why would he mock conservatives? Why would he turnoff his loyal conservative base now, on the precipice of a landslide in November? It defies logic.

Third and most importantly, if everyone “in the know” believes the GOP is on the verge of a massive landslide victory (and they are), why would you even think of negotiating an immigration reform bill now?

Think about it. Now it’s a lose/lose. Obama and Reid hold all the cards. But starting in January 2015, with a GOP Senate and House, with Obama an embarrassed, emasculated lame duck, the GOP would hold all the cards.

What Republican leader would be dumb enough to pass the bill now? Wait until 2015 and instead of begging for crumbs, the GOP is dictating the terms of Obama’s surrender. What sane leader would trade a win/win for a lose/lose scenario?

Into this situation steps Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), leader of the party that practices shooting itself in the foot. Boehner is theoretically on our side, yet he wants to let Democrats off the hook for Obamacare, change the conversation to something divisive and controversial, demoralize and anger his own best customers, hand a moral victory to Obama, inspire the Democrats’ core voters, and negotiate from the worst possible position, instead of waiting just a few months to negotiate from the best possible position.

Does any of this make sense to you? So I ask you…

Is John Boehner stupid, bought and paid for, or on the other side? He’s either not thinking clearly, or he’s not on our side. No matter your answer, it’s now clear Boehner has to go.

Normally, I take anything from The Blaze with a large dose of salt. All too often, Beck and his crew have their tin-foil hats on too tight. But…this time they agree with me and say the same, paraphrased, as have I. As the adage goes, the quality of an article is directly proportional to the degree it agrees with you.

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Coup…Counter-Coup

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All is not well in the state of Maryland. The officers and the members of the Board of Directors of Wicomico County Education Association (WCEA) have become dissatisfied with their upstream counterparts, the Maryland State Education Association and the National Education Association. In brief, the local union felt and still feels that they are not getting their money’s worth when they send their dues upstream.

They have scheduled a vote to disassociate themselves with the state and national union. Those parent organizations were not pleased. Like any third-world dictator, they struck back.

Maryland Teachers Union Shop Steward Stages Coup

posted at 9:21 am on April 22, 2014 by Mike Antonucci

My apologies if this ends up sounding like a dispatch from some war-torn Third World country, but it really is a tale from southeastern Maryland.

The elected officers and members of the board of directors of the Wicomico County Education Association (WCEA) scheduled a rank-and-file vote for the 1,000-member local union to end its affiliation with the Maryland State Education Association and the National Education Association. The issues were the usual ones in such cases – the local officers felt an awful lot of dues money was going up the line to the parent unions in exchange for not much in services for the local. After last week’s events, that vote – scheduled for April 28 and 29 – is very much up in the air.

Upset by the actions of WCEA’s board, Gary Hammer, a union site representative at Bennett Middle School, began circulating petitions to recall all the WCEA officers and members of the board, and to suspend them from office until the recall took place. Hammer and his supporters claim to have gathered 700 signatures, which would constitute a majority of the bargaining unit.

Last Tuesday, Hammer and others “entered the WCEA offices, changed the locks and codes, removed or altered office equipment and purported to illegally fire the Association’s only employee.” According to WCEA president Kelly Stephenson, “These actions were not taken in accordance with the governing documents of WCEA or in accordance with the law.”

Stephenson insists the disaffiliation vote will go on as scheduled.

As any good coup plotters would, Hammer and his associates seized the radio station, er, union web page. They have posted this message while deleting much of the site’s previous content:

On April 15 a majority of the members of the Wicomico County Education Association stood together and took necessary steps to prevent a small minority of members from dismantling the union with attempts to disaffiliate from our state and national Associations. The members have spoken and have declared that we are stronger together, and the support we have from the Maryland State Education and National Education Association adds to that strength. We have collected the necessary signatures to recall the officers of WCEA and have put an interim board of managers in place, effective immediately. This board will assume day to day operations of the Association and will move to conduct an election of a new slate of officers. These actions clearly reflect the wishes of the majority of our members who are anxious to move forward and who remain committed to giving Wicomico County’s public school students the excellent instruction and service they deserve.

It seems almost beside the point to note that there is no provision in WCEA’s by-laws to remove the union’s entire elected leadership with a single petition whose signatures have not been verified by any independent authority. Nor is there any provision for the summary displacement of elected officers by an unelected “board of managers.” Nor have the charges contained in the recall petition been examined to see if they meet the recall requirements set out in the by-laws.

It is beside the point because the legality of such actions becomes secondary once you have succeeded in pulling them off. The American Federation of Teachers has turned into an art the recapture of rogue locals, with one such incident being declared illegal by the U.S. Department of Labor, and moot at the same time. A similar disaffiliation vote will take place next month in Modesto, California, though the California Teachers Association does seems to regard it as a legitimate election.

A legal battle will almost certainly arise out of this, but if the WCEA officers want to retain office, they had best respond to the coup’s tactics in like manner.

This is just another, among many, example of thuggish behavior by unions. This time it is the unions sending union goons against their own members to oust legally elected officers and Board members. It matters not that the actions of the state and national unions were illegal. If the local union doesn’t act quickly, it will become moot. The national unions have the force and assistance of the NRLB behind them.

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Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is all in a twitter. Those nasty Republicans are planning on cutting taxes and he’s vowed to veto the bill if it arrives on his desk. He’s so upset that he and his budget director will tour the state today to announce his response against those evil Republicans who want to cut taxes.

From PoliticMO Newsletter, April 22, 2014:

NIXON’S NEW TAX MESSAGE — A FATAL LAW. Gov. Jay Nixon dispatched his legal counsel and budget director to carry a new line on monday that Senate Bill 509 carries a fatal flaw that could cost the state billions. The issue is with Line 43 on Page 2, which reads, “The bracket for income subject to the top rate of tax shall be eliminated once the top rate of tax has been reduced to five and one-half percent.” Counsel Ted Ardini: “The bracket for income subject to the top rate is… over 9,000 dollars… Once that hits 5.5 percent, this provision tells us to eliminate the top tax bracket. Once you eliminate the top tax bracket, it becomes over #8,000 and under $9,000… If your Missouri income is greater than 9,000 you have no tax bracket and no tax rate. … By the elimination of the over 9,000 tax bracket, there’s no where to go.”

State Representative John Diehl responds:

HOUSE MAJORITY FLOOR LEADER JOHN DIEHL: The “Governor’s contention of #SB509 flaw is laughable. MO SupCt would never take his position on that reading of that bill.” “It’s a pattern of scare tactics and deception to avoid the real issue… Never once did they identify some hole in the bill.… We were and are confident that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this bill.” — PoliticMO Newsletter, April 22, 2014.

Jay Nixon has never met a tax he didn’t like.

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In my opinion, Rasmussen is and has been one of the most accurate polling groups in the country. They are not always right, but on the average, they are correct more than any of their competitors. Each week they present a rolling poll on Congress…which party is more preferred. Historically, the dems usually have the edge by a percentage point or two. In fact, I cannot remember when the ‘Pubs were on top.

This week they were.

Generic Congressional Ballot

Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 41%, Democrats 40%

Republicans have edged ahead of Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, April 20.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 41% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican in their district’s congressional race if the election were held today, while 40% would choose the Democrat instead.

The last time this switch occurred was during the week of February 4th, 2014.

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An article appeared yesterday in the American Thinker. Mark Levin spent some time discussing it on his program and his FB page. It is an analysis of John Boehner and it isn’t, by any means, complimentary.

But Seriously, Just How Slow-Witted is John Boehner?

By C. Edmund Wright, April 21, 2014

As he moves from lobbyists to the golf course, from press conferences to the tanning bed, he remains oblivious to all that is around him. He has power, incredible power, and yet to this day he has no understanding of the election that made it so. Moreover, all around him are astonishing opportunities for him to be an historic figure — one who could and should be the man who did more than any other single person in turning back the red tide of Obama. It’s all there for Speaker of the House, and yet John Boehner manages to miss it all — as he guarantees his spot as the most spectacular failure in the history of Speakers of the House.

So seriously, just how dense is this guy? I’m not being flippant, or overly dramatic. His performance, in light of the momentous circumstances, necessitates just that question in the most literal and serious sense. Mr. Boehner, I frankly think you’re sort of stupid. Either that, or you are plagued by an amazing lack of situational awareness.

Consider: For months, the IRS has done their best to guarantee that they are known as nothing but part of the Democratic Party election machine.  Lois Lerner remains such an unsympathetic figure that the last public photo of her might as well have been a set of legs with red slippers sticking out from under a house. Elijah Cummings has been exposed as a corrupt and inarticulate embarrassment, and an email trail is emerging that would make Nixon’s use of the IRS look like child’s play. This one scandal is an incredible teaching opportunity of the inherent evils of the liberal bureaucratic political state. Donald Rumsfeld understands this. Boehner? Not so much. He’s talking about immigration deform.

If that weren’t enough, there is another epoch-making story unfolding in Nevada, as the Bundy Ranch is being invaded by an army of militarized bureaucrats that most of us didn’t know exists — working for a bureaucracy that is apparently in charge of more land mass than the majority of world governments. Who the hell are these robo-crats, and who is paying for and authorizing their intimidating and dangerous cross-dressing? Apparently, in this case, the boy king of this hidden empire is a former political aide from the office of Harry Reid. Again, a silver platter of an opportunity has presented itself.

But no, Boehner would rather work behind the scenes to spoil the efforts of the Tea Party groups.

Oh, and while we’re at it, the Bundy story is far more than just some delicious viral YouTube videos. It brings up some very important questions, such as why does the Federal Government own more land in Nevada than everybody combined owns in the United Kingdom? Why does the BLM control one eighth of the entire landmass of the country? And just how many dirty Harry Reid deals are going on everywhere while most of us had no idea how big the BLM was and how little of our own country the rest of us own?

Uh, Mr. Boehner, these are questions of stupefying importance, and while millions of Americans are asking them, they will not get the traction they deserve until someone in a position of power asks them. You know, like a Speaker who is in the opposition party?

The column continues at the website. I urge you to follow the title link or the link here to read it in full. I cannot disagree with anything the writer has penned.

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Lawfare. If you have listened to the news today, the NC Attorney General has requested a delay in the latest lawfare suit filed in federal court against the state of North Carolina. The suit complains that the state’s anti-same sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. The tactic many such groups are using around the country with, frankly success, is known as Lawfare.

Lawfare is a recently coined word not yet appearing in the Oxford English Dictionary,[1] a portmanteau of the words ‘law’ and ‘warfare’, said to describe a form of asymmetric warfare.[2] Lawfare is asserted by some to be the illegitimate use of domestic or international law with the intention of damaging an opponent, winning a public relations victory, financially crippling an opponent, or tying up the opponent’s time so that they cannot pursue other ventures such as running for public office,[1][2] similar to a SLAPP lawsuit. Other scholars see it more neutrally as a reference to both positive and negative uses of law as an instrument of warfare or even to the legal debates surrounding national security and counterterrorism.[3] — Wiki.

Lawfare is a particularly vile tactic. It does, however, have a large degree of success by cherry-picking cases that incrementally enhances the agenda of its practitioners.

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