Posted on 03/25/2018 9:13:36 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
"All you need to know why this was a bad bill is to look at the roll call," a long-time Republican lobbyist emailed me Saturday, referring to the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending law.
Of course, he's right.
President Donald Trump reluctantly signed the $1.3 trillion spending bill Friday, but a careful review of the crucial Senate vote shows it was Democratic members, not Republicans, that actually passed the bill.
In another major embarrassment to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, his own Republican caucus opposed the very bill he negotiated.
The omnibus bill passed the Senate by a vote of 65 to 32 (with three abstentions).
Of the 65 "for" votes, 39 Democratic senators supported the bill with only 25 Republicans signing on. Republicans control the Senate with 51 seats.
Of the 32 "against" votes, 23 were Republicans, including stalwart conservatives such as Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Rand Paul of Kentucky,Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Mike Lee of Utah.
Democrats were so excited about the bill's passage, they could not contain their glee.
"We Democrats feel very good because so many of our priorities for the middle class were included," beamed Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York.
Schumer was especially happy because chief among his priorities was the funding for a $30 billion the infrastructure project in New York known as the Gateway program.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
I think that was what he intended to do, but apparently, Mattis’ arguments convinced him otherwise. Half of this bill goes to rebuild our seriously depleted military and for other national security measures, cough, cough. How about a wall to secure the nation from invaders?
The House roll call was not a whole lot better. It could not have passed w/ Republican votes (only 145 GOP voted for it if I recall correctly.)
“And as if on cue, Establishment Republicans were outraged. They are already talking with Democrats to pass a new bill to block the wall from being built!”
Good luck with that! At least we will know now with complete certainty, who amongst the “republicans” in both Houses of the Congress need to be voted out of office as soon as is possible! Trump's ascendancy to the Presidency has had another salutary effect, “smoking out" the worst of the RINOs!
He doesn't have any authority what so ever as long as he lets black robed tyrants tell him what he can and can not do, when clearly he has Constitutional Authority.
How many agree with Ernst?? Very few, if any. That is why you should vote Republican. If you anyone out there happens to be a transgender, well then, then don’t vote Republican, it’s OK!!
Everyone else must vote Republican so we can get the Trump agenda completed.
How was Schumer floored with one punch?
My Republican Senator and my Republican Congressman did not vote against the Omnibus Bill so I’m still with Trump on this. Does Trump always have to do all the heavy lifting. And when are the Republicans going to fight back against the “Special Counsel Inquisition” of Donald Trump?
Whether it is clear or not preliminarily depends on the view of his legal team, not someone off the sidewalk like you and me. Ultimately, of course, the question is decided by the USSC not some lower court.
There are always back-up plans and work-arounds; but it could be Game Over, if the dems, the RINOs, the deep state and the establishment with its MSM get a USSC decision that Trump is acting unconstitutionally.
“...I’m almost 50, so this has been going on for several decades prior to my birth....”
I am in my mid-eighties and can tell you it has been a political principle for many in Congress since F.D. Roosevelt, maybe before.
We really do need to repeal the 17th and let state legislatures select their own for the US Senate. What we have now is ridiculous. (and obscenely costly)
Toss in, getting rid of the 17th Amendment and you got a plan.
Everyone else must vote Republican so we can get the Trump agenda completed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Re-electing the same people blocking the Trump agenda and expecting a different result is insanity.
We need new GOP Senators.
Flake, Corker, Hatch, Heller, Alexander, Graham, McCain, Murkowsky, Hoeven, Rubio, Tillis, Burr, Lankford, Gardner, Cornyn, Cochran, Collins, Sasse, Kennedy, Shelby, Ernst, Blunt, McConnell, Wicker, Portman, Isakson, Johnson, Toomey, Rounds, Thune, Gaines, Barasso and Enzi are all Bush League Republicans hell bent on making America into North Mexico
I held my nose when I voted for him. I was definitely in the Paul Broun camp, because he don’t give a f*ck. But, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the job that Perdue has done and is doing. From what I know about the RAISE Act, it sounds great and him and Cotton seem to actually care. Shame they can’t get more traction and help from the RINOs, even his counterpart Issacson.
It has been said in other news venues that the Communist Chinese have had their hand “in McConnell”, for some time.
How to define “in”, I leave to your definition.
How did I forget 17A?
I despise our Alaskan Reps. Dan Sullivan is mostly OK, but the other 2 suck!
I agree that many must be changed for a pro-Trump republican. But if after a primary the only choice is one of the listed and a Democrat, we must vote republican. The democrat may claim to be moderate, but once seated, becomes a radical liberal.
Good luck with that.
The US Senate is a whore house led by Madame McConnel.
Mitch must go!
Jim I posted the following earlier but seeing as it is apropos to the topic I am posting it here as well.
In all likelihood what we saw was political brinksmanship: President Trump has to hold his cards very close to his chest because of all his political enemies and the 5th columist leakers within.
President Trump is a straight shooter, he wanted to fund and build the wall through the normal, constitutional budgetary process but was intentionally sabotaged by Ryan, McConnell and the rest of the RINO swamp "Republicans" in collusion with the DEMONcrats.
Even after offering them a DACA deal for the funding of the entire wall (that his base didn't like, but was willing to compromise on to a certain extent for the sake of the safety of the nation), both "parties" i.e., the "uniparty" still refused to give him a constitutional budget which included funding for the wall and essentially signalled that they NEVER WOULD.
At this point the POTUS saw the proverbial "hand writing on the wall": Both parties would continue to circumvent and reject the will of the people, the security of the nation and even their own constituents for as long as it took to see that the wall that the President promised, ran on, and won on would NEVER be funded or built and they would nefariously use their role as outlined within the constitution as the means to do so. "See, we are the 'good guys', using the U.S. Constitution to deny the evil Trump his bad wall".
President Trump, the straight shooter who wants to accomplish his goals LEGALLY, within the confines of the Constitution and the rule of law said to himself (with the help of some very shrewd, wise and godly counselors):
"OK, I generously offered you the carrot, you've rejected it and chosen to play constitutional 'hard ball' instead. Fine (he thinks to himself 'if that's the way you want it two can play at that game, and I am better at 'hard ball' than you'll ever be), you staunchly refuse to submit a constitutional budget, I guess I will have to accept an 'omnibus SPENDING bill' instead."
"You submit an omnibus SPENDING bill that contains funding for the military to the tune of 700 billion dollars and I will sign it. The military must be funded because NATIONAL SECURITY IS PARAMOUNT (emphasis added)."
OK; at this point in the game the trap is SET, the politician rats have their necks IN the trap but they haven't yet taken the pork-cheese bait.
The deep state RINO's and DEMONcrats say to themselves "oh goodie, we've won, evil Trump has lost, his wall won't ever be funded or built! All we have to do is agree on a pork barrel 'OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL' (*Note: this is NOT A CONSTITUTIONAL BUDGET, it is anot omnibus SPENDING bill), submit it to him and this dufus will be forced to sign it", which they proceed to do.
Yes, the 'omnibus SPENDING bill' fully funds the military, however, it is onerous and full of pork-cheese for the political rats; but THAT'S THE POINT: President Trump is going to use their greed and lust for the pork-cheese against them.
*Note: There is still time for these greedy, self-serving "politicians" to remove their necks from the trap and pull the "omnibus SPENDING bill" before the President can sign it. So President Trump in a brilliant move of bluffing/brinksmanship comes out the very day before it is to be signed and tweets: "I don't like the bill because of what is in it (this is true), ...I don't know if I will sign it."
Blinded by their pork-cheese greed, the political rats on both sides of the isle go into full panic mode; egged on by their sycophants in the press they put their necks EVEN FURTHER into the trap screaming all the while: "President Trump M U S T SIGN THE OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL!"
Oh the "drama" President Trump has intentionally created: "will he sign it", "won't he sign it?" The rats teeth are on edge, salivating at the thought of all that pork-cheese, almost in their grasp.
Finally the moment of decision arrives... *REMEMBER: President Trump's promise and penultimate goal is to fully fund and build the border wall! He has tried to negotiate, "play nice", compromise (i.e., the DACA deal) and work within the "normal political system" all in good faith in order to accomplish this goal, BUT THE POLITICAL RATS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ISLE WOULD HAVE NONE OF IT!
Flanked by General Mad Dog Mattis, and voicing his displeasure he signs the OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL (*Note: This again is NOT a Constitutional budget) stating two very important things:
1) He is doing so for NATIONAL SECURITY in order to fully fund the military, and to PROTECT THE COUNTRY.
2) He says: "I WILL N E V E R SIGN A BILL LIKE THIS AGAIN!"
He never will because THE TRAP HAS SNAPPED SHUT, BREAKING HIS POLITICAL ENEMIES NECKS, and he has just LEGALLY AND CONSTITUTIONALLY GOTTEN EVERYTHING HE WANTS CONCERNING FUNDING AND BUILDING THE BORDER WALL, AND THERE ISN'T A SINGLE THING HIS POLITICAL ENEMIES CAN DO TO STOP IT now that he has signed THEIR omnibus SPENDING bill!
His conservative base thinks he has caved; he hasn't, he just constitutionally worked within the system, using the only tool left open to him to reach his promised goal of fully funding and building the wall.
The liberals, the RINOS, the MSM and DEMONcrats gloat, tell themselves they have won and boast on TV "We got 80% of what we wantend!"... Yes they got their 'pork-cheese' but they have died getting it.
Like someone that has just gotten their head cut off by the gillotine, whose brain still functions for a few seconds; they are dead, but they just don't know it yet.
Now that the trap has been set, the pork-cheese bait taken and the trap sprung shut, figuratively killing his political enemies,... President Trump quietly announces that "building the wall begins on Monday"!
Reading this, the dead rats and RINOS, salivating over their pork-cheese fleetingly think to themselves ..."what?" just before the blood left pooling in their severed heads gives its last bit of life and the lights go out.
President Trump signed the "omnibus SPENDING bill" THEY forced upon him into law. He signed it for the sake of "NATIONAL SECURITY" and come next week he is going to proclaim proctecting the southern border is a matter of NATIONAL SECURITY.
Therefore, as POTUS he will be taking all of the money necessary to fully fund and build the wall from the monies earmarked for the military and "NATIONAL SECURITY" in the omnibus SPENDING bill. And there isn't a constitutional or legal thing his enemies can do about stopping him or it. Because, in their blind greed for their pork-cheese they gave him the legal means to do so! Check and mate.
While the little deep state piggies, and the msm will complain, bellow, squeal and holler, they don't have a legal or constitutional leg to stand on. They won the pork-cheese battle this round, but in doing so they have lost the war.
President Trump finally got what he promised. The wall will be built, and he will "NEVER" sign another pork-cheese laden bill again... no more trough for the little piggies.
Expect the squealing to begin any minute :o)
I think their names are actually Chuck McConnell and Nancy Ryan....
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