Who’s Lying in the Senate?

On Friday, Ted Cruz created quite a stir went he broke protocol on the Senate floor and accused Mitch McConnell of lying.

If that is true, and it appears it is, we now know that the majority leader has a lot of company. I will offer proof that all of the Democrats and about half of the Republicans are guilty of the same thing.

Have your senators talked about how they want to rein in corporate welfare and cut out all unnecessary spending? Of course they have! A procedural vote to allow the highway bill to move forward with an amendment that would reauthorize a little-known government agency, the Export-Import Bank, proves it. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00254

It also proves that there are far more Democrats infected with corporate greed than Republicans, but unfortunately the GOP Senate leader is among them. McConnell made a big show of voting against allowing the amendment to advance. However, he is the one who orchestrated the vote. His corporate donors got the message. It’s hypocritical!

If you don’t know if your senators should be retained or not, this vote should make it abundantly clear. McConnell, and every senator who voted “yea” is cheating on us. They are robbing taxpayers to pay off their corporate cronies.

If you are not familiar with the Ex-Im Bank, you should be. It’s Exhibit Number One when it comes to government waste. Continue reading “Who’s Lying in the Senate?” →

Why John Kasich Scares Me Most

Okay, he’s not officially in the race, and in the early polls he’s near the bottom, but I predict one of the last Republican candidates standing in the race for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination will be Ohio Governor John Kasich.

First and foremost, in the last three decades, with one notable exception, voters have selected a president the way a seven-year-old selects a Barbie doll. They pick the one with the prettiest face. That’s why Hillary has undergone a complete makeover.

Republicans desperately want to win this one. That being the case, this beauty contest favors Marco Rubio or John Kasich. Both have boyish good looks. Even though Kasich is 19 years older than the junior senator from Florida, he still has what it takes in looks and personality to charm the voters. Continue reading “Why John Kasich Scares Me Most” →

Republicans Confront the Big Bad (Iranian) Wolf

Fairy tales are simple lessons for children of good versus evil. The villain is easy to spot. Often it’s a big bad wolf.

This week, frustrated Republicans, anxious to prove they are in control of Congress, penned a fairy tale of a letter and sent it to one of the world’s big bad wolves, the country of Iran. Ostensively, the purpose of the letter was to put Iran’s leaders on notice that any deal they sign with President Barack Obama could expire the day he leaves office. The real purpose of the letter was to make us believe they are doing something.

It would be laughable if it were not so pathetic. Continue reading “Republicans Confront the Big Bad (Iranian) Wolf” →

McConnell to Newbies: Drop Dead!

There are twelve new faces in the Republican Senate caucus this year. Each won a hard-fought victory.

They all made big promises on the road to Washington which they expected to keep.

Without exception, all made definitive statements on the problem of illegal immigration and the president’s plan to create amnesty for millions with the stroke of his pen. This is a good time to review some of the statements made before and immediately after their elections:

Shelly Capito (R-W.V.) “The president does not have the constitutional authority to grant amnesty to millions of people who have broken the law by entering our country illegally. President Obama’s executive action on immigration is wrong and violates the responsibility of Congress to write and pass laws as outlined in our Constitution. (Facebook posting December 4, 2014)

Bill Cassidy (R-La.) “We must stop Obama … As your senator, I will fight his amnesty plan. Your tax dollars should benefit you, not those here illegally.” (On-line campaign ad) Continue reading “McConnell to Newbies: Drop Dead!” →

Voters: Caught between a Democrat Rock and a Repubican Soft-Place

In the run-up to the November election President Obama rightfully said that he wasn’t on the ballot but his policies were. Voters responded and sent a strong message against those policies by kicking out a large number of Democrat office holders and putting Republicans in control of Congress.

It wasn’t because Republicans had a strong message. It was because the individual candidates running against those ousted Democrats all voiced their opposition to Obamacare and his illegal executive action granting amnesty to millions of alien lawbreakers.

Three months have passed since that message was sent and voters now find themselves caught between a Democrat rock and a Republican soft-place. Democrats have no power, but when the issue of Obama’s amnesty came up in the Senate, they put up a united front to shield the president from having to veto a popular measure — the bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security sans funding for amnesty.

When that happened, Republicans, who have all the power, grabbed their pacifiers and blankies and went into their soft-place hidey-holes. Continue reading “Voters: Caught between a Democrat Rock and a Repubican Soft-Place” →

Where the Rubber Meets the Road (On Illegal Immigration)

This is the month the rubber will meet the road when it comes to illegal immigration. Does the new Republican-controlled Congress mean what it says on this subject or is it all a political game?

This month we will find out if the Republican-controlled Senate will approve a radical left-wing ideologue as attorney general. In testimony before the Judiciary Committee Loretta Lynch let it be known that she has no intention of enforcing our immigration laws.

This is also the month that we will find out if Congress will defund Obama’s illegal amnesty.

Make no mistake. Republicans are in complete control of Congress and they have the support of the overwhelming majority of the public on this issue, but will they hold the line on illegal immigration or will they cave in to political pressure from the White House and the Washington press corps? Continue reading “Where the Rubber Meets the Road (On Illegal Immigration)” →

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” →

If I were King for a Day

I have mixed emotions this time of year. I love the holidays but I hate what our elected representatives do to us in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s the most dangerous time of the year.

While we are absorbed with the holidays, they are absorbed with seeing how much of our money they can spend or how many of their pet projects they can sneak through before they tiptoe out of town.

The Repubican-led House and the Democrat-controlled Senate are expected come together in a great kumbaya moment in the next few days to pass an omnibus (ominous is more like it) appropriation bill hashed out between congressional leaders behind closed doors.

It was released late Tuesday evening giving members only 48 hours to wade through the 1600 plus pages before the voting begins. Although a few details have been publicized, it would take days to fully digest all the gory details. It is wordy and purposefully difficult to understand, enough to challenge the most proficient Evelyn Wood’s graduate. Continue reading “If I were King for a Day” →

“D-Day” for Republicans

“D-Day” is a military term used to denote the beginning of a combat mission.

There is a new D-Day coming. Let’s call it “Decision Day for the United States. It falls on December 11. That is the day the GOP must decide if it will accept the mandate it was given by the American people to lead or if it will run up the white flag of surrender to an unpopular but stubborn president.

If you have been paying attention, then you know that this is the day the government runs out of money. The timing is awful, two weeks before Christmas when most people are busy with the holidays and have checked out politically.

This timing is no accident. The price of liberty really is eternal vigilance. There can be no liberty without the ability to control a fair portion of what we earn which is slowly slipping away with each passing tax increase. And don’t kid yourself, if we don’t get the nation’s spending under control, more hefty tax increases are coming. It’s just a matter of time. Continue reading ““D-Day” for Republicans” →