Boehner’s Gone: Who’s Crying Now?

“It stinks!” That was how incoming Speaker of the House Paul Ryan explained the back room deal hatched by outgoing Speaker John Boehner and Democrat leaders that raised the debt ceiling and put us on automatic pilot to the spending stratosphere through the rest of Obama’s term.

Boehner claimed he was “cleaning the barn” before Ryan took control of the House of Representatives but where is that smell coming from? The entrance to the place is spotless, but the bad odor will linger well after Boehner is gone because of all the brown stuff he piled up in the stalls.

Thanks to Boehner and the Senate’s worthless Mitch McConnell, it’s Obama who will come out smelling like a rose. The nation is on a collision course with the grim reaper over unrestrained spending and all the hard decisions have been put off until the next president takes office.

Does anyone seriously think that Paul Ryan’s hands are clean? Boehner spent weeks begging Ryan to take the reins of the House. If Ryan had put his foot down and said “No” to this deal it never would have happened? Instead, Ryan blessed the deal by voting for it, along with all Democrats and a mere 78 of his Republican colleagues. Continue reading “Boehner’s Gone: Who’s Crying Now?” →

Free Your Congressman from House Monarchy

Our republic dodged a bullet last week when, at the 11th hour, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced that he was removing himself from consideration for Speaker of the House. His surprise announcement came after John Boehner had assembled all GOP House members to elect his replacement.

Speaker Boehner, who is supposed to retire at the end of the month, had rushed this election to ensure that McCarthy, his chief lieutenant, would succeed him. However, when McCarthy bailed, Boehner asked for unanimous consent to postpone the vote. Before anyone could object, he dismissed the caucus, leaving the two remaining candidates in the race, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Daniel Webster of FL, twisting in the wind. Continue reading “Free Your Congressman from House Monarchy” →

We Don’t Need a Boehner Clone

There’s an old saying that should be heeded by members of the House of Representatives: “Things that are urgent are rarely important and things that are important are rarely urgent.” So, when it comes to electing the next Speaker of the House — the office 2nd in line to the presidency — what’s the rush?

It’s a scheme to pave the way for John Boehner’s hand-picked successor, Kevin McCarthy, to take over the reins.

Clearly, the voters know that the problems we have in this country will never be solved by entrenched politicians. That is why outsiders are leading the race for the GOP presidential nomination. That is why House Majority Leader Eric Canter was dumped by the voters in his district in the last election. That is why Boehner was forced to announce that he will resign at the end of the month.

Unfortunately, unless reason prevails and a major revolt occurs, the Republicans in the House will meet to select their nominee for Boehner’s replacement on Thursday in the Republican caucus. The vote may already have occurred by the time you read this. Continue reading “We Don’t Need a Boehner Clone” →

Lessons from Denny Hastert (The real Scandal)

Former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert has been indicted for allegedly structuring bank withdrawals of $952,000 to evade bank reporting requirements and then making false statements to federal investigators.

According to various media outlets, quoting unnamed law enforcement sources, this was part of a $3.5 million “hush money” agreement he made in 2010 with a former student over some form of sexual misconduct more than three decades ago.

However, it’s the method Hastert used for the withdrawals and the coverup that landed him in hot water with the Feds, not his actions with the former student.

If these allegations are true, they would be despicable. Any sexual contact between an adult and a minor is against the law (although it may not be prosecutable due to the statute of limitations). The wrong would be compounded, whether or not the act was consensual, because, at the time of the alleged incident, Hastert was in a position of power and influence over the student. People in positions of power are held to a higher standard — or they should be —such as a doctor and a patient or a president of the United States and an INTERN. Anyone remember Monica? Continue reading “Lessons from Denny Hastert (The real Scandal)” →

The Power of One

Much has been written about the power of one. One person can literally change the world. Most of us look at such individuals as exceptional people, those blessed with a great talent or skill. We tell ourselves, “Certainly, this doesn’t apply to people like me.”

We’re full of excuses like I’m too young or too old or too busy. Perhaps we hesitate because our perspective is simply too large. What if we didn’t set out to change the world, just the world around us.

Recently, I was moved by reports from two individuals, one who could be classified too young, the other too old. Continue reading “The Power of One” →

How to Get Beyond the State of the Obama Union

President Obama delivered his 6th State of the Union message to a Congress which is now completely controlled by Republicans. In case you missed it, here is a brief synopsis:

“I fixed the economy (wages are stagnant and the work participation rate is a paltry 62.8 percent, the lowest since 1978) so it’s time to let the good times roll. I’m giving away free ice cream and we’ll make the rich pay for it. Now who wants free ice cream? “

Before you grab your dish and line up for a scoop, let me warn you. You may not get the flavor you want or need and, in the end, it will cost you more than you ever thought you would pay. Continue reading “How to Get Beyond the State of the Obama Union” →

10 Predictions for the New Congress

Despite, thousands of letters, emails and phone calls, John Boehner was re-elected speaker of the House of Representatives but it wasn’t an overwhelming show of support. Twenty-five brave Republican congressmen (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/01/06/here-are-the-republicans-who-voted-against-john-boehner-for-speaker/ ) withstood pressure from within the conference and were willing to suffer retaliation in order to cast a vote for someone else or simply vote “present.” It was the largest number of congressmen to vote against a sitting speaker from their own party in 100 years.

Boehner ran up the white flag of surrender shortly after the election. It’s going to be a long, disappointing two years. That said, here are my predictions for the new Congress, predictions that I hope and pray will not come true. Continue reading “10 Predictions for the New Congress” →

Can Boehner really be Dumped? (Yes! Here’s How)

Our system of government was designed to be run from the bottom up. Our founding fathers wanted to be sure that we the people would have the final say in matters of great importance, not the president or congressional leaders, and certainly not the Supreme Court.

They also recognized that it was we the people who must have absolute control of the power of the purse, not the other way around. That is why the Constitution mandates that all spending bills must originate in the House of Representatives and that the members of that illustrious body must stand for re-election every other year. They gave us the ability to rein in congressmen if they overstep their bounds.

To say that John Boehner has failed as Speaker of the House is to state the obvious.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to dump a sitting speaker. As the old saying goes, “Power corrupts, and absolutely power corrupts absolutely.” Congressional leaders have a lot of power and they do everything they can to maintain it. That is why the current Congress holds the elections for party leadership positions for the next Congress before the new members are seated. It’s all supposed to be a fait accompli but is it? Continue reading “Can Boehner really be Dumped? (Yes! Here’s How)” →

The bad news? GOP’s same Spineless Leaders

So you think the fact that Republicans now control both houses of Congress there will be a rollback of Obama’s unpopular policies? Guess again.

If you hit the snooze button for another two years, there will be a lot of whining and gnashing of teeth, but nothing important will get done. Obamacare will still be the law of the land. We will still be spending more than we take in and our immigration laws will still be a joke.

But wait a minute. Isn’t this why the electorate gave the Republicans control of Congress? What about the millions that were spent on the ads Repubican candidates were running touting these very things? Aren’t these the very issues this election was supposed to be all about? Continue reading “The bad news? GOP’s same Spineless Leaders” →

A Seven-Year-Old Looks at the Office of President

On Friday, my seven-year-old granddaughter came home from school with a long face. “Grandmother,” she said, “is there any way a kid like me could talk to someone who could get the president to change a law?”

“The president can’t change laws, honey,” I replied. “Only Congress can do that.”

“Well, who could I talk to about changing a bad law?”

“What law is that?” I enquired.

“The one that won’t let kids vote for president.”

“If you could vote, how would you go about deciding who would make the best president?” I asked. Continue reading “A Seven-Year-Old Looks at the Office of President” →