Category Archives: Continuing Resolution

Betrayed

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Boehner is acting as imperially as is Obama. Now that the election is over, why is Boehner rushing to fund Obamacare and Amnesty before the democrats who lost their seats, leave? Is Boehner so scared of the MSM that he would betray his party and constituents? Or, more likely in my opinion, is he a democrat wearing a republican label?

Regardless, he is pushing an $1Trillion omnibus bill over the objections of the conservatives in the House. Boehner is aware that McConnell will rubberstamp it in the Senate. Both are despicable members of the ruling class in DC.

Initially, Boehner was copying Pelosi’s tactic, “you have to vote for it to find out what’s in it.” Fortunately for us, some have seen it and are telling us what really is in the funding bill.

CROmnibus: The $1 Trillion Betrayal

By James Simpson, December 11, 2014

Flush from an unprecedented nationwide GOP victory in this November’s elections, House and Senate GOP leadership determined that their essential first course of action should be to snatch defeat from its jaws. They have brought forth a spending bill for 2015 that gives President Obama almost everything he wants, while disenfranchising the very voters who delivered the GOP victory.

The $1.014 trillion Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, (HR 83), has been dubbed “CROmnibus” as it is a combined continuing resolution (CR)[1] and Omnibus spending bill. It will provide full funding for 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills to the end of FY 2015 (September 30th), and a short term continuing resolution to February 27 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The 1,603 Page Cromnibus

Speaker Boehner has said he would ensure members a minimum of 72 hours to read legislation. Instead, following former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s innovative “pass the bill so that you can find out what’s in it” policy, there will only be a tiny window of no more than 52 hours to read, analyze and vote on a trillion dollar spending bill that is 1,603 pages long. For reference, the Bible (NKJV) is only 1,200 pages. In 2010, incoming Speaker Boehner sang a different tune, “I do not believe that having 2,000-page bills on the House floor serves anyone’s best interests, not the House, not for the members and certainly not for the American people,” he said. But he also said he was going to cut spending…

Well, since this monstrosity went public at around 8:30 Tuesday night, countless eyes have been poring over its provisions to make sure we don’t have to pass it to find out what’s in it. Following are some of the worst:

1. Explanatory Statement

Right from the start, the very first provision indicates this is a new animal:

Sec. 4 Explanatory Statement (P 4.)

The explanatory statement regarding this Act, printed in the House of Representatives section of the Congressional Record on or about December 11, 2014 by the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of the House, shall have the same effect with respect to the allocation of funds and implementation of divisions A through K of this Act as if it were a joint explanatory statement of a committee of conference.

What it says in plain English is that the appropriations committee chairman will have authority to write in changes to any of the appropriations bills after the bill is passed. Usually this is done by a conference committee before the vote and indicates how and where they would like to see monies spent. This provision could allow the chairman to sneak in something or make other changes after the vote!

2. Executive Amnesty Is Fully Funded

The bill withholds funding for 451 separate activities, but none for executive amnesty. It provides at least $2.5 billion to handle this year’s influx of approximately 252,600 illegals. Most of the programs existed beforehand, but the legislation makes clear that increases have been provided to cover the additional costs:

Health and Human Services: $948 million for HHS’s Unaccompanied Alien Children program, $80 million more than fiscal year 2014, specifically to accommodate the “more than 57,000 children” apprehended in 2014. According to the Democrats, “It will also support legal services for children as they seek safety in the United States from extreme violence and abuse in their home countries.” This mantra is part of the Democrats’ effort to reclassify illegal aliens as “refugees,” a classification they clearly do not warrant. See p. 34 of Democrat bill summary.

Social Security: The following convoluted language actually gives illegals greater access to Social Security. By limiting denials to individuals whose actions have “formed the basis for a conviction…” implicitly everyone else is eligible, including those 4.5 million amnestied illegals:

None of the funds appropriated in this Act shall be expended or obligated by the Commissioner of Social Security, for purposes of administering Social Security benefit payments under title II of the Social Security Act, to process any claim for credit for a quarter of coverage based on work performed under a social security account number that is not the claimant’s number and the performance of such work under such number has formed the basis for a conviction of the claimant of a violation of section 208(a)(6) or (7) of the Social Security Act. (PP. 958-959).

Department of Education: “$14 million for grants to all State educational agencies within States with at least one county where 50 or more unaccompanied children have been released to sponsors since January 1, 2014…” (P. 910) Furthermore, local agencies will be given subgrants for “supplemental academic and non-academic services and supports to immigrant children and youth.”

Department of State: $932 million. Includes a provision to assist Central American countries in improving their border security. (PP. 1303 — 1306). No funds appear to be allocated specifically to this activity but the Democrats’ bill summary identifies $260 million “to respond to a surge of unaccompanied children from Central America coming to the U.S. The funds will be used to implement a prevention and response strategy focused on border security and the reintegration of migrants, as well as the causes of the migration, including programs to improve education and employment, support families, counter gangs, coyotes and drug cartels and professionalize police forces.” See p. 53.

Note that the above does not refer to U.S. border security but that of Central American countries — an absurd gesture. The three Northern Triangle states of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador facilitated this year’s migration. Their borders are much tighter than ours. If they wanted to shut them down, they could. Flush $260 million.

Providing a short-term CR for DHS was supposed to make it appear that the GOP was going to challenge Obama’s illegal executive amnesty next year, because DHS agencies are to process new applicants under the executive order. But there is no language in the DHS CR defunding amnesty. Bill writers claimed they could not insert defund language into the DHS CR because affected programs are self-funded with user fees. Yet the bill had language restricting other user-fee based programs in other agencies. And if they couldn’t defund it now, how could they next year when the CR expires? 

Between now and February 27, Obama’s executive action is fully funded, and the CR expires after the program kicks in. Meanwhile, DHS is rushing to hire new personnel to process the illegals expected to apply for the amnesty. There were so many lies and deceptions in this exercise it was almost impossible to keep up.

The GOP House leadership wants amnesty. Rep. Pete Sessions has said publicly that Republicans did not intend to repatriate the illegals who overwhelmed the border in 2014. Regarding any immigration “reform,” Sessions emphasized that the plan, “even in our wildest dream, would not be to remove any person that might be here, unless they were dangerous to this country and had committed a crime.” They structured the CROmnibus specifically to give Obama what he wants, allowing him to take the heat for it while they pretend to oppose it. Their real goal is to pass comprehensive immigration “reform” in 2015 that will look much like George W. Bush’s failed effort in 2007.

The Daily Caller’s Neil Munro quoted a GOP Hill aide: “GOP leaders want to block and complicate the anti-amnesty fight because the GOP might win the fight against Obama… That victory would derail their plans for an GOP-designed amnesty in 2015, and complicate their efforts to keep immigration out of the 2016 election…”

The Leadership’s amnesty goals defy all logic. Those illegals brought with them a dictionary of new diseases, including most likely, the Enterovirus outbreak responsible for at least 8 deaths and numerous cases of serious paralysis. Illegals commit heinous crimes in disproportionate numbers. A major reason the GOP swept elections nationwide is that most Americans — including Democrats and Hispanic Americans — do not like Obama’s open borders policies and want illegals sent home, not to remain here stealing jobs and overburdening our welfare system — already stressed to the max. Poll after poll indicates this.

On Wednesday, an amendment was proposed that would block funding for Obama’s executive amnesty. One of the amendment’s co-sponsors was Dave Brat, the Virginia legislator who threw Eric Cantor out of office. The amendment probably won’t get a fair hearing but good on him for trying.

3. Full Funding for Obamacare

Clever language says “no new funding” for Obamacare. But Obamacare was fully funded in the CR passed in September to keep the government open until December 11, including the contentious abortion funding and other issues. Now funding will be provided for the full fiscal year. This means no Obamacare repeal this year, and as it gradually sinks its tentacles into our Nation’s heart, it will be increasingly difficult to rip out. If a Republican becomes president in 2016, by then it will be so entrenched they won’t dare risk political capital to remove it. Difficult to believe, but the GOP Leadership appears to want Obamacare almost as much as the Democrats.

4. Millions More Muslim Refugees

Syrian Refugees $3.06 billion has been provided, $1.01 billion above the President’s request for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons. (P. 52 Democrat summary). Recall that in September Simon Henshaw, deputy assistant secretary of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, announced: “Next year, you will see thousands [of Syrians] entering the US. We are committed to a large program on a par with other large [refugee resettlement] programs in the past… Our commitment is to do thousands a year over many years,” he said. There are over 1 million Syrian refugees in Turkey who have fled Syria’s civil war. “Our resettlement program from Turkey is one of our largest in the world, and it will continue to grow,” he added. Refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran will also benefit. So if you like Dearbornistan, prepare for many more towns like it.

5. Aid to Syrian Rebels

Half a Billion to Nice Terrorists “$500,000,000 … to provide assistance, including training, equipment, supplies, sustainment and stipends, to appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian opposition and other appropriately vetted Syrian groups or individuals for the following purposes: defending the Syrian people from attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and securing territory controlled by the Syrian opposition; protecting the United States, its friends and allies, and the Syrian people from the threats posed by terrorists in Syria; and promoting the conditions for a negotiated settlement to end the conflict in Syria.”. Weren’t our friends in Libya “appropriately vetted” too? The bill denies use of these funds for “procurement or transfer of man portable air defense systems.” But how does DoD plan to enforce that? (PP 426-427).

6. A Bunch More Objectionable Provisions

  • EPA gets to keep on imposing “greenhouse gas” regulations that are strangling coal, while provisions reining in EPA were stripped from the bill.
  • Provisions supporting gun rights were removed.
  • $5.4 billion for Ebola efforts in Africa — more than provided to fight ISIS.
  • The bill contains phony budget gimmicks, but still violates spending caps
  • Too many others to list

Club for Growth is urging all members of Congress to vote “NO” on the Cromnibus (HR 83), as is Heritage Action for America, the political action arm of the Heritage Foundation. Conservatives may have an unlikely ally in Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren has become the Democrat’s latest folk hero following the ignoble flameout of Wendy “Abortion Barbie” Davis. Warren has called on Democrats to deny support until one objectionable provision regarding the Dodd-Frank law is removed. The Teamsters have weighed in as well, asking members not to support Cromnibus because of changes to multi-employer pension legislation. Both sides may be willing to consider a short term 90 day CR should the CROmnibus fail to pass, but the White House understandably prefers the monster.

This bill sets horrible precedents; most importantly it blatantly dismisses overwhelming popular opposition to both executive amnesty and Obamacare. The GOP majority was elected to take action, and not the action preferred by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Obama and the Democrats, but that demanded by taxpaying voters. If allowed to stand, these two policies will rip our country apart and ensure that the GOP majority, as usual, is very short-lived.

The Hill, at the time of this writing, has released the names of 13 ‘Pub and 17 democrat House members who have said they will vote against this abomination. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas is on the list. Our own Vicky Hartzler is not. Is Vicky so enamoured with her committee assignments that she’ll sell us out and vote for this monstrosity? Calls and emails to her office have been unanswered.

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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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Aftermath

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If nothing else, the government ‘shutdown’ and debt struggle has allowed us to definitively weed the the useless pols in Washington from the productive Congressmen. Of the Missouri congressional delegation, four voted to support Reid and Obama—that’s what the vote really was all about. Those MO Congressmen were Lacy Clay, representative from St. Louis, Emmanuel Clever, representative from Kansas City, Claire McCaskill, democrat senator, and Roy Blunt, GOP establishment senator. Roy Blunt’s votes validate the ‘Replace Roy Blunt‘ movement that is growing in the state.

The Senate passed the ‘Run up more debt’ bill by a vote of 81-18. It’s easier to document who, among the GOP senators voted against the bill—and against Reid, Obama and McConnell, than it is to document those who supported Reid and Obama.

Sens. Ted Cruz (Tex.)
Marco Rubio (Fla.)
Rand Paul (Ky.)

These first three are expected to be front runners for a conservative presidential candidate in 2016 according to WaPo. I have my strong doubts about Rubio. He’s burned all his bridges with the Tea Party and grassroots conservatives.

Sens. Charles Grassley (Iowa)
Dean Heller (Nev.)
Ron Johnson (Wis.)
Pat Toomey (Pa.)
Sens. Mike Enzi (Wyo.)
Pat Roberts (Kan.)

Two Senators face strong opposition in the next election. Liz Cheney is said to be running against Enzi and Milton Wolfe against Pat Roberts.

Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.)
John Cornyn (Tex.)
Mike Crapo (Idaho)
Mike Lee (Utah)
Jim Risch (Idaho)
Tim Scott (S.C.)
Jeff Sessions (Ala.)
Richard Shelby (Ala.)
David Vitter (La.)

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who would probably have voted, “No,” did not vote. He was recovering from heart surgery. (From The Washington Post.)

There is a graphic, if you follow the link above, that depicts the actual breakdown by political party.

The House—John Boehner approved the Senate bill. Boehner had to enlist Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats to get that approval. In the end the Senate bill passed in the House on a vote of 285 to 144.

Locally, I was gratified to see all of Missouri’s GOP Representatives voting against the Senate bill and Boehner. The only two MO representatives who voted yes were democrats Clay and Cleaver. I have had some harsh words for GOP Representative Vicky Hartzler over her votes on the massive Ag bill earlier this year. I have to applaud her for her votes on this bill. She stayed with her constituents.

The votes from the Kansas congressional delegation was more mixed.

Kansas:
• Sen. Jerry Moran — Yes
• Sen. Pat Roberts — No
• Rep. Kevin Yoder — No
• Rep. Tim Huelskamp — No
• Rep. Lynn Jenkins — Yes
• Rep. Mike Pompeo — No
— Kansas City Business Journal

To say I’m disappointed in Senator Jerry Moran and Representative Lynn Jenkins is an understatement.

So where do we go from here? As usual, Erick Erickson from Red State has thoughts on that.

Much cynicism has been expressed over the past month about the effort, led by Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, to fight Obamacare. It was about money or defeating Republicans or something other than what it was about — undermining Obamacare with a united front.

It was always about undermining Obamacare, despite the claims of others. But, those of us who were in this fight against Obamacare have been quite open that we knew there were side benefits. This fight would expose conservative activists to the frauds they have funded.

Men like Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, and others have preached a great sermon against Obamacare, but now conservatives who supported them see that these men have refused to actually practice what they’ve been preaching. They’ve refused to stand and fight with the rest of us.

The fight was always about Obamacare. Today we know we must keep fighting and fight harder against even our own supposed side. But we always knew the fight would force the charlatans of the GOP out of the shadows into disinfecting sunlight. It has happened as I wrote it would almost a month ago.

Now conservatives can keep advancing. They should not be disheartened.

In reality, the GOP of a decade ago would never have fought like it has fought now. The party that gave us No Child Left Behind, Medicare Part D, and TARP would never have stood for two weeks embarrassing Democrats with short term spending bills.

Ted Cruz and Mike Lee may not have been able to strike a death blow to Obamacare today, but they were able to fight a fight that would have been impossible before them. They have now made it less and less possible for Republicans to collaborate with Democrats to fix or stabilize Obamacare.

So we must advance. Two Republicans in the Senate caused this fight that their colleagues would have surrendered on more quickly but for them. Imagine a Senate filled with more. We have an opportunity to replace Mitch McConnell in Kentucky with a better conservative. We should do that. We have the opportunity to send a strong conservative from North Carolina and we should do that. Same in Colorado. Kansas looks to be in play. Chris McDaniel will declare his candidacy for the Senate in Mississippi. Conservatives will rally to him quickly. Tennessee could be in play too.

The establishment has given conservatives a brilliant opportunity to advance against them and then against the Democrats. As Obamacare now goes into full swing, conservatives can show that they tried to stop it while Mitch McConnell and so many others sat and watched from a cozy booth the Capitol Hill Club leaving the fighting to others while they did everything possible to undermine the fight.

As more Americans watch Obamacare fail them through the Republican primary season, conservatives will be able to put the focus on Republicans who funded Obamacare instead of fighting it. Whether they like it or not, Republicans in Congress will find their names on ballots in 2014. They cannot hide or escape fate.

Conservatives must advance — ever advancing against the Republicans who have folded in the fight against Obamacare. We will not win all the fights. But Ted Cruz and Mike Lee show we do not have to win them all. We just need reinforcements.

The last time the major leaders of an American political party tried to compromise their way to power, the party broke apart giving us the Republicans. This fight too will break apart the GOP. There will not necessarily be a new party from it, but there will be a fundamentally altered party of new faces fueled by a grassroots movement now able to connect with each other and independent from Wall Street and K Street funders.

Never before have the people been less dependent on a party apparatus to play in primaries. Conservatives now have groups like Heritage Action, Senate Conservatives Fund, Madison Project, Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, For America, and others to fund and rely on.

Grassroots upset about this fight should be encouraged. We’d have never gotten this far with the GOP before 2010. Imagine now the possibilities in 2014 if we make examples of a GOP that refused to fight Obamacare.

2014 must now be about advancing, ever advancing, even through the ranks of the GOP to have the fights that must be had.

Republican leaders in Washington want you to get off the field.  Instead, get involved and get even. — Red State.

Our enemies have chosen us. Now it is time for us to choose their replacements.

 

 

 

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Back again…

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I’m late! I’m late! For a very import…

Oh, wait, wrong theme.

Today’s theme is not from Lewis Carol. Hollywood, or rather, the TV networks, is defiling Lewis Carol’s work with a dark, trashy TV series based on his book. It seems that everything coming from liberal Hollywood and their media sycophants is trash. Now, they’re trashing Alice in Wonderland—another TV series Mrs. Crucis and I won’t be watching.

But, getting to today’s topic, Boehner is in a spot of trouble. His sell-out of conservatives has backfired. He was about to schedule a vote on a GOP establishment plant that surrendered all to Reid and Obama, until it hit a stumbling-block. The House conservatives rebelled. Boehner didn’t have the votes.

Now, Boehner’s plan B is to adopt the democrat Senate plan, one endorsed by Mitch McConnell, and pass that in the House leveraging democrat votes. Let me restate that. Boehner, a supposed GOP congressman, will depend on House democrats to vote for a democrat plan from the Senate over the objections of House GOP members.

Why is Boehner still Speaker? He certainly isn’t a republican. If you follow the rule of: If it talks like a democrat, acts like a democrat, votes like a democrat, it must be a democrat regardless of which party he’s a supposed member.

Erick Erickson, writing in Red State, had this to say.

Bridge Burning and Bridge Building

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  October 16th, 2013 at 04:30 AM

House Republicans have signaled they are giving up.

They’ll merge their ideas with Mitch McConnell’s ideas. The result will be a funded government, raised debt ceiling, and nothing done with Obamacare.

Throughout this fight, Harry Reid has outsmarted Mitch McConnell. Repeatedly, Reid used the Senate’s rules to toss aside numerous proposals from the House while McConnell looked on not knowing how to fight back.

Reid knows how to beat McConnell. If Reid fights hard, McConnell backs down and tries to blame others. McConnell’s lieutenants attack Ted Cruz so “the Leader” can deflect from his own legislative impotence. And he continually is one step behind Reid in his knowledge of how to use the Senate’s complicated rules to win a fight.

You will see no defunding of Obamacare because Republicans are giving up.

You will see no delaying of the individual mandate, even though the Obama Administration cannot fix the website. Republicans have given up this.

You will not even see Republicans hold the line on ensuring Obamacare go into effect as designed by forcing the end to all exceptions, exemptions, and delays granted by the President without congressional consent.

No, the GOP intends to fully fund Obamacare and let Barack Obama have all the power to exempt his friends and delay portions for patrons of his campaign.

So I intend to fully fund Heritage Action for America and the Senate Conservatives Fund. The latest Pew poll shows that more Americans want their own member of Congress thrown out of office than at any time in recent memory.

We only need a few good small businessmen and women to stand up and challenge these Republicans who are caving. If they refuse to fight for us, we must fight them. It is the only way we will finally be able to fight against Obamacare.

I am tired of funding Republicans who campaign against Obamacare then refuse to fight. It’s time to find a new batch of Republicans to actually practice what the current crop preaches.

The irony in all of this is that Obamacare’s individual mandate is going to be delayed. Just wait. Liberals are already whispering that it has to happen. They can’t get the computers up and running. People aren’t signing up. They whole process is broken.

But they also do not want to cave in to the GOP. So they will wait.

Barack Obama will wait for the GOP to surrender, then he will issue the delay himself, just like he did with the employer mandate.

Any bridges remaining between Barack Obama and the GOP will start burning. Any remaining good will goes away.

And conservatives will use this all as a millstone around the necks of those who caved. The GOP will vote to fund Obamacare. The GOP will not fight to delay Obamacare.

But then the President will do it. So what good is the GOP? It is time to fight this out in primaries in 2014. Given just how poorly Crossroads performed in 2012, I like our odds with Heritage Action, Senate Conservatives Fund, Madison Project, Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, For America, and others.

Basically, what Erickson is calling for is defunding the GOP establishment. Heritage Action is getting credit for blocking Boehner’s vote last night—along with conservative House members. The time has arrived for the ‘Pub congressmen to stand up and declare themselves. “We are conservative and we support defunding Obamacare, reducing actual spending, not just reducing the amount of spending increase, we support down-sizing government and eliminating departments and agencies that are doing actual harm to the country.

The rest of the GOP should just admit, like McCain and Graham, that they’re democrats and come out of the closet.

The GOP establishment is about to burn it’s last bridge with their core across the nation. Let them and be done with it. We’ll know whom to support and whom to primary out of office.

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Obama’s Targets

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“Make it hurt!” That’s been Obama’s instructions to his troops when the Shutdown began. He had been planning for the shutdown for some time. The blockages, barriers, and propaganda appeared within minutes of the deadline.

Who are Obama’s targets? Those who have invested the more in our nation—the veterans, the military, the sick, the rank-and-file conservatives, anyone who won’t line up and kiss Obama’s feet.

The Washington Examiner identified six target groups, groups chosen by Obama as his personal enemies. I can only hope he reaps what he’s sown. It will not be what he thinks.

6 groups targeted to make the shutdown look worse

By ASHE SCHOW | OCTOBER 7, 2013 AT 4:22 PM

A partial government shutdown just wasn’t going to hit people the way the Obama administration needed it to, so officials resorted to some unprecedented acts to make Americans feel the pain, as Conservative Intel’s David Freddoso notes:

Most people — even the poor in state-run safety net programs — don’t have that many interactions with the federal government agencies affected right now by the shutdown.

So it’s a challenge to make people notice that your agency is vital to the survival of the Republic. The feds have to apply a lot of force and behave in unsubtle ways to make you angry with Congress.

1. Veterans

No group has been more visible during the shutdown than veterans. Memorials were closed, and House Democrats voted against bills that would restore funding to veterans programs.

A short list of some of the monuments closed (note that veterans moved barricades to see their monuments anyway):

» World War II Memorial

» Normandy cemetery

» Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

» Iwo Jima Memorial

Just 4 percent of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs have been furloughed, according to Government Executive magazine, making it even more odd that the department’s funding wasn’t restored.

2. Lake Mead, Nev., property owners

Suddenly, owning a home on federal land causes homeowners to be kicked out of their domiciles.

Ralph and Joyce Spencer, an elderly couple who own a Lake Mead cabin, were forced out of their homes by park rangers saying they had to leave until the federal government reopens.

The Spencers have owned their home since the 1970s, and fellow Lake Mead resident Bob Hitchcock, who’s owned a cabin on the lake for 26 years, said he wasn’t told to vacate during the previous government shutdown that occurred under the Clinton Administration.

3. Cancer patients

House Democrats also voted against a bill to restore funding to the National Institutes of Health, a federally funded medical research center.

Yes, there is privately funded cancer research still occurring, but saying no to cancer research of any kind is probably not a winning strategy.

NIH is an agency within the Health and Human Services Department, which furloughed 49 percent of its employees, according to Government Executive.

4. National Guard and Reserve units

House Democrats (noticing a pattern?) also voted against funding that would allow members of the National Guard and Reserves to return to work during the shutdown.

Democrats say the reason they won’t pass piecemeal funding bills is due to GOP “cherry-picking” parts of the government to fund instead of funding the entire government.

5. Tourists

Imagine saving up to visit the nation’s capitol or the Grand Canyon. The family is packed up and ready to fly — or drive — cross the country to see the sites and have a great time.

Then the government shuts down. No worries, how can the government shut down open-air monuments? Well, apparently they can — and did.

The Grand Canyon National Park is closed. How does one shut down a giant canyon? Apparently with gates and barricades similar to those veterans crossed to see their monuments.

Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., refused to allow the federal government to close state parks in Wisconsin, since the state had the authority to operate the parks and provided most of the funding for them.

Mount Rushmore is also closed. Cones have been placed along the highway to keep tourists from pulling over and snapping pictures of the monument. Because it’s apparently cheaper to pay people to set up cones than it is to … not do that.

Across the country, in D.C., the Lincoln Memorial is closed. Note that this monument was not closed during the 1995-96 government shutdowns. Barricades were also set up outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

The National Parks Service attempted to shut down Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home. Problem is, the site is privately owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. Also, NPS tried to shut down the Claude Moore Colonial Farm, which hasn’t received federal funding since 1980. Oops!

The NPS is on a roll, actually, when it comes to closing down privately owned businesses.

6. Taxpayers

One thing that isn’t closed during the partial shutdown: tax collection.

“The IRS will accept and process all tax returns with payments, but will be unable to issue refunds during this time,” the IRS website said.

Every day we hear of more villainous acts by the federal government and their surrogates. The National Park Service seems particularly apt and eager to oppress the public. Over the weekend the NPS issued 21 tickets to people wanting to see the Grand Canyon. They must appear in person before a federal Judge.

I wonder how long it will be before some trigger-happy federal JBT shoots someone for wanting to see one of our nation’s treasures?

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Thursday’s Thoughts

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We’re in day three of the shutdown and, besides closing public access to open air memorials and blocking access to privately owned parks and memorials, nothing much has happened.

Oh, people are being hurt. People chosen specifically by Obama, like the military, who, on a hunt and miss selection, have had their commissaries closed—commissaries and other facilities, like golf courses—except for Obama’s favorite golf course at Andrews AFB outside Washington, DC.

For those who don’t know what the commissary is, it’s a supermarket for military dependents. The prices aren’t all that much cheaper anymore. Commercial groceries, Walmart, has matched prices in most locations. No, the issue is that in some locations, the nearest civilian grocery is 60 miles away!

The House ‘Pubs are standing their ground. I’m surprised, frankly. Perhaps it is due to Senators Cruz and Lee meeting with House conservatives providing leadership missing from Boehner and Cantor.

Harry Reid blocked the CR. He blocked the 2nd and 3rd revisions because each either defunded Obamacare or defunded parts of it, or delayed its initiation. Now, the House is sending up specific funding items aimed a specific functions—fund the military, National Guard and Reserves, fund the National Parks, fund medical research. Each time, Reid had blocked those efforts.

It’s time to lay aside the entire effort to fund the government by Continuing Resolution. Let’s either fund the government piecemeal, which Harry Reid hates, or submit a budget—one the defunds Obamacare and cuts, drastically, Obama’s bureaucracy.

It’s time to do one or the other or keep the government shut down. The House has the responsibility for funding legislation. Let’s use that responsibility as originally intended by the Founders, as checks and balances against a tyrannical executive branch.

***

The House ‘Pubs are standing firm…for the moment. I sincerely hope they continue to do so. One ‘Pub representative said, “It’s not about Obamacare anymore.”

GOP stands firm against funding bill, will link to debt ceiling fight

By DAVID M. DRUCKER | OCTOBER 3, 2013 AT 10:55 AM

House Republicans are unlikely to blink in the standoff over Obamacare that precipitated a government shutdown, fearing that acceding now to Democratic demands for a “clean” spending bill would weaken their hand in upcoming negotiations over the the debt ceiling.

Those Republicans said Wednesday that the spending impasse that shut down the government early Tuesday is less about conservatives’ desire to derail Obamacare than it is about strengthening their hand in the debt-ceiling talks. That borrowing limit must be raised by Oct. 17 to prevent the government from defaulting on its financial obligations and Republicans say any future agreement to reopen the government would link the spending bill and the debt ceiling.

“This is not just about Obamacare anymore,” centrist Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., said.

“We’re not going to be disrespected,” conservative Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., added. “We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s government shutdown, House Republicans pushed for a short-term budget bill that would fund the government at current levels, but also fully and permanently defund Obamacare. President Obama and Senate Democrats rejected that proposal and three others that would have at least slowed implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

House Republicans now say they won’t agree to a funding bill unless Senate Democrats agree to meet in a conference committee to hash out their differences. They rebuffed a proposal from Senate Democrats Wednesday to form a conference committee only after the funding bill was approved and the government reopened.

With the third day of the shutdown dawning and the deadline to raise the debt ceiling fast approaching, House Republican leaders believe maintaining party unity over the budget bill is paramount. Any divisions or concessions would only bolster Obama’s hand in the debt ceiling talks.

House Republican leaders will drive their rank and file particularly hard to support a debt ceiling proposal that includes provisions on tax and entitlement reform and other GOP priorities. They also don’t want to cut short the epic battle against Obamacare that conservatives have long sought. For those reasons, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is unlikely to put up a “clean” budget bill that funds the government without Democratic concessions.

“The [budget bill] is now part of the debt ceiling fight and we may see a shutdown that extends to mid-October,” said a veteran Republican operative with relationships on Capitol Hill. “Boehner could not pass a [budget bill] with mostly Democratic support now and then have any chance of holding Republicans on the debt ceiling.”

House GOP leaders and most of their rank and file never supported conservatives’ efforts to use the budget bill and the threat of a government shutdown to defund Obamacare, fearing a political backlash. Polls consistently show most people oppose the strategy and would blame Republicans if the government closed.

But having gone as far as they have, House Republicans now say they won’t back down. And they expect to score political points in the process.

The article continues at the website. It continues with the statement that House ‘Pub leaders were surprised when Reid blocked their efforts to fund the government piecemeal.

Really?

If that is true, Boehner and Cantor are more stupid than I ever believed.

***

Obama really pissed Mark Levin off yesterday. I don’t know how many of you listen to his radio show, but yesterday’s broadcast was a jewel. On the air, Levin read an article that Obama had specifically ordered the National Park Service to close the WW II Memorial in Washington, DC. These orders were issued after a ‘Pub congressman asked Obama to exclude the Washington memorials from the shutdown. Honor Flights, for WW II veterans, had been scheduled for this and coming weeks and the ‘Pub congressman saw no reason why these aging veterans should be disrespected.

But disrespect them is exactly what Obama did.  Not only did he order the open-air memorials closed, he ordered that anyone who violated the barricades were to be arrested.

That was too much for Levin. The more he read, the louder grew his voice. The link below is to a website that provides the audio of that portion of Levin’s show. It is great!

Mark Levin: You lay one damn hand on a WWII vet, I’ll bring half a million people to DC [VIDEO]

10:33 PM 10/02/2013

Conservative talker Mark Levin has a stern warning for President Barack Obama and his administration: Don’t mess with the World War II veterans.

Levin, author of “The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic,” told his audience on his Wednesday radio show should there be any action taken against those veterans for visiting the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, even with the government shutdown, he would bring 500,000 people to march on the Washington, D.C. in response.

“I want to tell you folks something — I want to say this loud and clear to the people who are on Capitol Hill who are listening, to this administration: You lay one damn hand on one of those World War II vets at that memorial, I’ll bring half a million people to that damn memorial,” Levin said. “You got that? I’m sitting here stewing thinking about this — playing these damn games. You will ignite a movement in this country like you have never seen before — the biker patriot army, veterans from all over the country, every single war and battle in this country — Republican, Democrat, Independent, whatever.”

“I’ll be damned if one president with his feet up on the desk in the Oval Office, with a smirk on his face, looking at his golf cart — I’ll be damned if this president or anybody else is going to shut down that World War II Memorial, period,” he continued. “These men are in their 80s and 90s, so let me repeat: You lay one hand on one of those men and arrest them for going to their memorial, which they fought, which was not paid by you, dammit — was paid by the American people — we will come out of every town and city in this nation, we will come out of every county on both coasts, both borders and we will march on Washington against your tyranny. You have been warned.”

Levin iterated that the sentiment was heartfelt and was in no way a stunt.

“This isn’t intended to be controversial,” he added. “This isn’t intended to be a joke. This is exactly how I feel in my heart and soul. I take this very personally. My grandfather fought at Iwo Jima and he fought at Guam. And my great uncle fought at Guadalcanal. And I’ll be damned if this community activist is going to shut down their memorial. They beat the Germans. They beat the Nazis. They beat the Japanese. They beat fascist Italy. And I’m not going to allow as one person, this administration, these people to beat them now that they’re in their 80s and 90s. No damn way.”

Good on ya, Mark.

Spite!

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The government has been shut down for a day now and what’s happened. Obama ordered barricades erected around the WW II and other memorials around DC to prevent WW II vets from making a pilgrimage to their memorials. Yesterday, those vets moved the barricades aside and toured their memorial regardless of the threats of arrest from government peons.

Good for them.

Today, they plan on visiting the Lincoln memorial. Already, government employees are hard at work erecting barricades around it as well.

lincoln_barricadedThere is no reason for these memorials to be barricaded. They are in the open. If the concern is about trash and trash pickup, I’d bet there are plenty of civic organizations willing to step in and keep the memorials clean.

No, the only reason for this is spite. Spite by Obama against those who won’t support his socialist agenda and spite against anyone who may, at some time, oppose him.

If the administration and democrats really want to enrage the nation, all they have to do is to arrest these 90-year old veterans. Many are in wheelchairs and in fragile health. If one of them dies as a result of the mishandling by government goons, I have no doubt, many more, veterans and non-veterans, will be marching to Washington. I saw a passing notice that the Oathkeepers are mobilizing to help these veterans overcome their obstacles.

There are some others who are protesting the shutdown. Who are they? Union government workers, sitting on their butts on the curb holding signs. For many, this is the same activity they do while on the government payroll.

government_union_workersWe only have to look at the ‘non-essential’ percentages to see the waste in government. Ninety-five percent of the IRS, Department of Education, the EPA, Department of the Interior, and many more departments and agencies have massive ‘unessential’ number of employees. I expect, if the shutdown continues, some of these will be declared essential…to satisfy the unions if for nothing else.

In the meantime, Harry Reid and House democrats continue blocking every proposal. Fund the military—blocked, remove the Obamacare subsidies for Congress—blocked, fund individual agencies like the Border Patrol—blocked. The democrats can’t blame the ‘Pubs for this shutdown. It has been carefully orchestrated by Reid and Obama.

So, as I write this, what is the headline on Drudge?

WWII VETS THREATENED WITH ARREST

Honor Flight of Northwest Ohio has a trip scheduled to depart from Toledo next Wednesday, October 9.

“We will make the call this Friday to determine if the flight is still a go, or if we will have to re-schedule,” Armstrong explains.

He says they are considering going ahead with the trip even if the government is still on shutdown, but when he called the parks service, he was told they would face arrest. “I said, are you kidding me? You’re going to arrest a 90/91-year-old veteran from seeing his memorial? If it wasn’t for them it wouldn’t be there. She said, ‘That’s correct sir.'”

When Armstrong asked for her name, he says she did not give it to him and then promptly hung up the phone.

Blatant tyranny.