The House Loses Its Boehner

John Boehner has announced that he is resigning from his position as Speaker of the House and will be giving up his seat at the end of October.

Good riddance to once of the worst leaders of the GOP caucus ever,someone who allowed an imperial presidency to run rampant under his watch. He, along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are directly responsible for the disaffection of Republicans today.

Boehner was weak when strength was needed, vengeful when unity was needed in his caucus and ineffectual when strategy was called for. He was one of the most unpopular Speakers in living memory.

At the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit, which was taking place just a few blocks from the Capitol, many jumped to their feet and cheered when Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, announced that Mr. Boehner was resigning.

And that's really the heart of the matter. The GOP's leaders are finally beginning to understand how angry their base is about their blatant betrayal of the peple whom voted them in.

Don't be surprised if McConnell is the next to go.


House Republicans are now meeting to find a new Speaker. Reportedly, Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Leader is the top candidate for the job and more acceptable to the GOP's conservative caucus.

We'll see.

All That’s Needed to Stop Fast Track Is You – Call Congress Monday!

 An important message from my friend Sarah Noble at the Independent Sentinel:


Of three large trade bills passed on Friday, only TPA was crushed, 126-302. TAA  did pass but TPA didn’t. TPA is considered necessary for TAA to work. TPA is the fast-track authority. It’s the process, not the deal itself.

TPA is being brought back on Tuesday and Wednesday. What will the GOP do to make it acceptable if anything?

Stripping TPA out of TPP is unacceptable to Progressives and it is unlikely the conference vote will pass both the House and Senate if TAA remains as is.

All trade deals include a TPA.

If TPA goes down, so does TAA. TAA spends large sums of taxpayer money to compensate workers for lost jobs by way of unemployment and social welfare programs et al. TPA is actually pork barrel spending to get trade deals through and doesn’t really work. The trade deals are usually worth it.
Another alternative to get TPA passed is for the House to reconsider TAA, perhaps putting even more tax dollars into it. It would need 80 votes to pass which would include a large number of Republicans. The pressure is being put on them as I write this.

There was a lot of talk about the Democrats being offended by Barack Obama impugning their character on the day of the vote as he was trying to convince them to vote for it, but what they really want is more money for TAA or a halt to proposed amendments limiting climate change and immigration.

TAA, which is the trade deal Republicans want to boost our economy, shows they can fight for things when they want to.

John Boehner is probably bringing TPA back for a vote Wednesday. He might be confidant it will pass after he presents a better deal for the Democrats.

TPA is fast-tracking a trade bill – TPP – that allegedly sets up a massive Trans-Pacific Union with a treaty that will not need 67 votes in Congress to pass and which will turn over some amount of power to the Union. We don’t know how much because we the people aren’t allowed to read even the draft. It could affect our sovereignty but we don’t know for sure or to what degree. It’s a pig in a poke.
Larry Kudlow  on behalf of the TPA – fast-track authority – and the TPP bill itself on his show Saturday.

Kudlow said TPA is a simple agreement that presidents are routinely given. It’s not new and its merely a process.

He thinks opponents are being revengeful but I don’t believe that. The reason is a lack of trust, not revenge. Kudlow thinks opponents are protectionists and xenophobes only. He said the handful of congressmen against it are trouble makers.

We can’t be protectionists but does that mean we have to be globalists? One of the Sentinel writers, Jim Soviero said that people should consider if Barack Obama is a free trader or a globalist and use that as a benchmark.

Kudlow assured Americans trade is in our best economic interests and the concerns about immigration and climate change are just not true. TPP will go online once it’s finished and there will be an opportunity to vote against it. While it’s a treaty, TPA waves that constitutional requirement of 67 votes however.

One of Kudlow’s callers and a strong supporter – Tom – called Kudlow The Oracle in a complimentary way. He said he was against TPA because he read it and he pointed out number 7 in TPA which he interpreted as saying you cannot back off the environmental stuff that’s in the bill and that Mr. Obama is doing right now in this country. The listener said that to him it means that we are stuck with Mr. Obama’s oppressive regulations.

Kudlow said those words are meaningless because TPA is only a process and that language is to make the left comfortable. Kudlow wasn’t aware of number 7 and had no knowledge of it. He hadn’t read TPA. If he hasn’t read it, why is he discussing it?

The section the caller referred to is probably this one:

(7) to seek provisions in trade agreements under which parties to those agreements ensure that they do not weaken or reduce the protections afforded in domestic environmental and labor laws an encouragement for trade;

This clause likely means we won’t compromise the environment for trade – trading on the environment can’t be used as a bargaining chip. I don’t think the clause is a problem, but, again, in the hands of Barack Obama, who knows. I’ve linked the TPA at the bottom and you can read it and judge for yourself.

Kudlow conceded the words might need to be removed but that could be done.

What Mr. Kudlow (who I also consider an Oracle) is ignoring is the fact that people on the right simply don’t trust Mr. Obama and with good reason. He is adept at twisting words to meet his agenda – words matter and he doesn’t necessarily interpret them the way the rest of us do. Who knows what he will negotiate away and when it comes back to Congress, the Democrats can get it passed if 67 votes are not required.

On Friday, Nancy Pelosi gave a speech on the House floor and I’ve included three sections of interest because it seems possible that Nancy Pelosi will move ahead with TAA and take her followers with her if she gets a better deal.

“Environmental justice – looking at these prohibitions on dealing with climate and 11 other countries in the world, and then our own. [There are GOP amendments to prevent Mr. Obama from negotiating climate change and immigration goals] Now, again, I commend the President, because in the Fast Track bill, there are some good provisions on the environment – issues, I’m talking about an ethic, a responsibility, a comprehensive view of the future. And again, the Pelosi Amendment addressed the indigenous people, all these people who will be not of the first, shall we say, priority for many of these countries as they make their economic decisions.”

[…]

“So while I’m a big supporter of TAA, if TAA slows down the Fast Track, I am prepared to vote against TAA. Because then, its defeat, [I’m] sad to say, is the only way that we will be able to slow down the Fast Track.”

[…]

“For these and other reasons, I will be voting today to slow down the Fast Track, to get a better deal for the American people – bigger paychecks, better infrastructure, help the American people fulfill the American Dream.”

These amendments are very troubling to the left. That doesn’t mean they have ulterior motives but they might.

Nancy Pelosi is right when she says voting against TPA slows the process. That’s all many of us want.

There are a number of items in the draft bill itself that have been leaked. One issue of concern is that foreign governments can sue companies here in the U.S. and the taxpayers would be on the hook for it. While TPA is not the bill itself, it is giving up the 67 votes in the Senate so Mr. Obama can negotiate in secret, publishing TPP only when it’s complete.

Why do we have to fast-track something – the draft of which – most of Congress hasn’t read? What’s the rush?

Contact John Boehner Monday at (202) 225-0600 or Call the Switchboard to contact your representative at (202) 224-3121. Take down the Capitol Hill phone lines. 

Get it? If you want to stop this in its tracks and send a message, here's your opportunity

GOP Caves - Spending Bill Includes Nearly $1 Billion For Illegal Migrants

After America gave the GOP a landslide victory, the Republican leadership is repaying them with what amounts to a total surrender to President Obama's amnesty by diktat.

The new GOP draft 2015 “omnibus” spending bill includes $948 million designated to aid poor and unskilled Central American illegal migrants establish themselves so they can stay in the United States. And there are no restrictions whatsoever on the president's plan to give work permits and other benefits to millions of illegal migrants. Nor is the bill prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security from spending money to implement President Obama's amnesty:

Instead, the leadership, led by House Speaker John Boehner, drafted a bill imposing a 60-day spending limit for Obama’s immigration agencies.

The planned 60-day spending limit is largely symbolic, because the most important immigration agency can operate on fees paid by the illegals.

“Leadership is basically giving in to every facet of Obama’s amnesty. We’re giving up an astonishing amount of leverage on every issue imaginable,” said one Hill aide.

The struggle between Boehner’s business wing and the populist conservative wing, has received little coverage in the established media, even though GOP legislators are calling for the public to protest their leadership’s policies.

Not only does the president's new executive order pretty much make enforcement of our immigration laws irrelevant, it creates new opportunities and encouragement for a brand new surge of illegal migrants to cross the border, expected to start in the summer of 2015.

And why not? Their chances of being allowed to stay have never been better. In 2014, Obama’s agencies accepted something like 56,000 Central American minors, providing them with health screenings and air transport to parents and family members throughout the United States.

The Obama Administration is also spending at least $7 million to provide free lawyers to the migrants so they can win court cases to remain in the United States. Only 1,901 were sent home by October 31st.

If the Republican leadership thinks that they're going to be able to indulge in this kind of treachery to please the Chamber of Commerce and their wealthy donors and still win elections, they're even stupider than I thought. This goes beyond mere politics..it's bad for the country and sets a horrible precedent.

Watch how quickly their majority disappears in 2016, especially if they nominate some RINO like Jeb Bush. The base will stay home, the majority of Latinos whom vote will vote for Hillary or whatever other Democrat promises them more gimmees and the GOP will likely have participated in its last election as a new party forms.

Here's hoping enough Republicans get this to kick Boehner and McConnell out and get new leadership, before they wind up being destroyed as a political entity.

The Left And The Midterms..Denial, The First Stage Of Grief

The results of the midterms are in, and the Republican wave election that wasn't supposed to be one is over.

In their own way, the results are even more stunning then in 2010. The Republicans not only retained their control of the House but actually added seats, and took the majority in the senate by eight seats. The senate races that were supposed to be close, or result in Democrat wins - in Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Iowa and North Carolina - ended up being decisive Republican victories, And that included the governor's races,where Republicans held on to nine seats they were supposedly in danger of losing. In the end, Scott Walker, Rick Scott in Florida, Rick Snyder in Michigan, Sam Brownback in Kansas,and Terry Branstad in Iowa all won, and the GOP actually elected governors in three solid blue states, Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois.

Considering the amount of voter fraud that undoubtedly occurred in some of these races, the real margin of Republican victory was likely even larger than reported.

The Left's 'war on women' tactic largely fizzled out, and some of the candidates that attempted it, like Wendy Davis in Texas and Colorado's Mark Udall (mocked as 'Mark Uterus' in the normally Democrat-friendly Denver Post)went down to defeat. While Republicans carried the majority of married women, the Democrats still led when it came to unmarried women but nowhere near what they previously managed to get. Overall, according to the exit polls Democrats managed to take the vote among woman by a mere 5%, 52% versus 47% for Republicans, while the GOP won male voters by 56% to 42%.

The Latino turnout was nowhere near what the Democrats needed, and while blacks turned out in places like Georgia and North Carolina, the numbers there were insufficient to win in those states as well as nationally.

These trends indicate something just as the professional Left's reaction - and the president's - to last night tells us what to expect in the next two years.

In looking at how the Left responded, there are several things they mostly had in common.All of them talked about the midterm electorate being whiter and older than a normal presidential election and about what a 'tough map' it was for Democrats. Few if any of them mentioned the fact that this was a referendum on President Obama and his policies, as the president himself stated frequently in his efforts to gin up turn out.

Supposing that this "young non-white electorate" these people are talking about favors Democrats or simply favored Obama in the past is a rather interesting question when you consider that the likely Democrat nominee in 2016 will be the really old white lady who they rejected in 2008.

Anyone who's actually being honest knows that President Obama won the majority of the black vote and continues to enjoy their support (at least on paper) based to a significant extent on racial grounds. The president and the Democrats spent considerable effort wooing this group by telling them that President Obama was indeed on the ballot and that he was in danger of being impeached if they didn't turn out en masse. Posters featuring a lynching that took place in the 1920's and telling black voters that if they didn't turn out those days would be returning were circulated throughout the South. The fact they mostly didn't is a sign that perhaps enough of them actually took a look at this president's policies and the way they have disproportionally hurt black America to have some second thoughts.

The same is true of women in general, even unmarried women. Married women are generally women with families, and among their primary concerns is security at home and opportunities for themselves and their children. To a lesser extent the same is true of unmarried woman, many whom know that the fairy tales about Republicans wanting to ban contraception are nonsense. What both groups see for themselves is this president's failure to deal with threats abroad or even potential epidemics as well as the increased cost of living and their own reduced economic opportunities.The old story about this being 'Bush's fault' is simply past its sell by date, and it smells worse the longer it continues to be thrown out there.

This is going to affect the 'Democrat coalition', especially as out of the record 100 women in the new congress, the majority are Republicans. The new face of American women might very well be reflected by Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and Mia love, the new GOP congresswoman from Utah.



And speaking of which, the other thing the exit polls don't quite explain is the historic level of Republican seats in the house. The GOP at the grass roots level in the congressional districts is now stronger than it has been at any point going back all the way to the 1920s.

Avoid it however they wish, the Left can't avoid the fact that this election was a referendum on Barack Obama's dysfunctional presidency.Yes, denial, with a healthy helping of sour grapes.

Not even the president can avoid this reality, although he continues to do so.

The president, in a fit of temper refused to send the usual congratulatory messages to GOP leaders Mitch McConnell and instead gave a desultory press conference today. Here's what he said:

"On Friday, I look forward to hosting the entire Republican and Democratic leadership at the White House to chart a new course forward. Obviously, Republicans had a good night, and they deserve credit for running good campaigns. Beyond that I'll leave it to all of you and the professional pundits to pick through the results.

What stands out to me though, is the American people sent a message, one they've sent for several elections now. They expect the people they elect to work as hard as they do. They expect us to focus on their ambitions and not ours. They want us to get the job done. All of us in both parties have a responsibility to address that sentiment. Still, as president, I have a unique responsibility to make this town work.

To everyone that voted, I want you to know that I heard you. To the two-thirds of voters who chose not to participate in the process yesterday, I hear you too. All of us have to give more Americans a reason to feel like the ground is stable beneath their feet, that the future is secure, there's a path for young people to succeed, and folks in Washington are concerned about them. So I plan on spending every moment of the next two plus years doing the my job the best I can to keep this country safe and make sure more Americans share in its prosperity. "

OK, the actual turnout in the midterms is estimated to be in the mid 40's rather than one third, but what's one more fairy tale from this president? What the actual message the president sent was that the GOP wave - a 'good night' as he phrased it - had nothing to do with him or his policies, but was simply because people are dissatisfied with things 'not getting done'. Which of course is solely due to GOP obstructionism!

Just compare this to what Speaker John Boehner had to say, that he was "humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us."

"But this is not a time for celebration," he said. "It's time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy."

For all the president's talk about 'working together', it's pretty obvious this president has no intention of doing so. For instance, he has already signaled that he's going ahead with amnesty for illegal aliens by executive order during the lame duck session as well as pushing through whatever appointments he can..such as a new, radical attorney general like Thomas Perez.

A real leader, of course would abstain from such tactics, obey the will of the people and try to work out an acceptable compromise with the new congress. That's not what we're dealing with here.

Columnist Peggy Noonan, hardly a right wing Republican, had a column in the Wall Street Journal this week that examined how past presidents like George W. Bush and Bill Clinton dealt with this situation

She referred to their responses as "the sound of political graciousness" and said "it would be nice to hear it from Mr. Obama on Wednesday." Needless to say, we didn't nor will we. Instead, the president will go ahead with actions sure to infuriate the incoming congress and torpedo any ideas they have about working with him before they even take their seats.

Another thing a lot of the professional Left had in common in their responses was a call for the president to use his veto and for the Democrats to use the filibuster to stop the new GOP majorities from using their new clout to accomplish anything. The strategy is obvious...to keep things in gridlock which they will later attempt to blame on Republicans in 2016.

The Republicans need to remember that what happened last night wasn't so much an endorsement of the GOP as a realization that the democrats have failed to govern, that the country is very much on the wrong track and that this is a last chance to get it right.

They were, after all, elected to stop President Obama's agenda and reverse it.

Harry Reid effectively eliminated the use of the filibuster and changed the rules of the senate to please himself. He exercised total contempt for the GOP minority and Republicans were actually locked out of the room when it came to drawing up major legislation like the bogus Stimulus and ObamaCare, something unprecedented in American history. The Republicans should utilize Reid's 'innovations' as a guide and do the same. And a good place to start would be to explain to the American people that they are bringing to a vote over 200 pieces of legislation passed by the House that Senator Reid exercised a one man veto over and kept from ever even coming to the floor.

They are there to govern, and if they fail to demonstrate their ability to do so, the door swings both ways. Here's hoping they take that to heart and proceed to act on it.