The Exquisite Hypocrisy Of 20 Republican Senators

One of the reasons our friend Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) gets under the skin of his Republican colleagues is that, unlike them, he actually votes the way he talks. If he’s against some policy of President Obama’s, like say an unconstitutional attempt to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, he votes NO and does all he can to stop it.

This annoys his hypocritical Senate Republican colleagues who prefer to campaign like conservatives at home while voting with President Obama when they are in Washington.

After 20 Republicans opposed Cruz’s point of order declaring the “CRomnibus” to be unconstitutional our principled conservative compatriots at Heritage Action compiled a list of “what they said then” on amnesty versus how they voted that is such an exquisite example of Washington insider hypocrisy that we have to share it in its entirety.

Below (and linked to the Heritage Action site) are quotes from the 20 Republicans who voted against Cruz’s constitutional point of order from three weeks ago, when Obama announced his executive amnesty. The % number is the Senator’s Heritage Action rating.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) 49%: “Our Founders did not want a king and the American people don’t want a president who acts like one. Our immigration system is broken and our border is a mess. The president should be working with Congress to secure the border and create a system of legal immigration – not disregarding the rule of law and the will of the American people.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) 51%: “While I support fixing our nation’s broken immigration system, the president should honor his own words that unilateral action on immigration reform is ‘not how our democracy functions’ and ‘not how our Constitution is written.‘ By circumventing Congress, the president will only make it more difficult to achieve long-term reforms to secure our border, stop future waves of illegal immigration, and reform our legal immigration system.” (11.19.2014)

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) 72%: “President Obama’s announcement on executive amnesty flies in the face of his promises to follow the law, deliver ‘fairness’ and help jobless Americans. His reckless and unlawful decision makes it even harder for Washington to solve our immigration challenges.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) 61%: “President Obama’s role is to faithfully execute the law, not alter or ignore it as he sees fit. If the president changes existing immigration law via executive order, he will exceed his Constitutional authority and ignore the wishes of the American people. Taking this action would be a disservice to everyone who followed the law to legally immigrate to the United States. I am working with my colleagues to explore all options – legislative and legal – to stop the president’s blatant disregard for our nation’s system of checks and balances.” (11.19.2014)

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) 54%: “There is no justifiable reason for President Obama to act alone now to allow millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the United States…By circumventing the legislative process now, I believe the President is making it much harder to address these problems. The Congress should review its best options and then act responsibly to address the President’s actions and ensure the primacy of the rule of law.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) 24%: “The President has said previously that the best way to address this problem is legislatively and that he does not have the authority to act unilaterally. His actions are contradicting his previous statements. … I am extremely concerned that President Obama’s excessive use of executive orders to circumvent Congress is undermining our constitutional separation of powers doctrine. His unilateral action on such a significant issue is contrary to how our constitutional system is supposed to work.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) 49%: “The president is blatantly ignoring the rule of law and Congress’ constitutional role, and I could not be more disappointed. Congress has to respond, but the response should be prudent and we should not lose sight of the fact that our job over the next two years is to enact policies that will make our nation stronger.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) 80%: “But the answer is not, and it can’t be, a Presidential abuse of power. So I wish the President wouldn’t do this. It won’t work. It’s unconstitutional. It purports to exercise a power he himself said he does not have, but he seems determined to do it, nonetheless.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) 74%: “By circumventing Congress on immigration and instituting his will through executive actions, President Obama is eroding the very foundation of our country and form of government. This sets a dangerous precedent where future presidents can flout any law they happen to disagree with and alter the law without going through Congress. Each branch of government is to act as a check against the others and not sit idly by as one exercises authority it does not have. A constitutional law professor should know that.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) 62% (and Sen. McCain): Previously, he said executive action “would not conform with my appropriate role as president,” and “that’s not how our system works. That’s not how our democracy functions. That’s not how our Constitution is written.” On this, we couldn’t have agreed with President Obama more. (11.22.2014)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) 50%: “This is wrong. It’s irresponsible. It will do damage to our efforts to fix a broken immigration system. This is a tremendous presidential overreach. I will try to defund the effort for him to go it alone. We will challenge him in court.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) 55%: “He does not have the authority and the power to do what he is doing. … it’s not constitutional … You don’t solve this problem by mis-using the Constitution. The President 22 times has said he doesn’t have this kind of authority.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) 65%: “What I don’t agree with is the use of the executive order nor do I agree with the Administration bypassing Congress.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) 84%: “President Obama declared a series of immigration actions through executive fiat. He has dictated his own laws — cutting out the American people and Congress — and then hypocritically declared he wants to debate the issue in good faith. … Over the last two years, President Obama has repeatedly stated that he does not have the constitutional authority to change immigration laws unilaterally.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) 39%: “By driving over Congress and handling this issue the partisan way, the president has dimmed his ability of getting the votes he wanted for a bipartisan solution that includes border security and would allow the whole country to meet this challenge together.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) 52%: “As President Obama has previously said, he is not ‘a king’ or ‘the emperor of the United States,’ and he isn’t legally able to unilaterally change immigration law any way he sees fit. Congress has a responsibility to respond and push back on his illegal power-grab. Congress must be creative in using all the tools in our toolbox – including mounting a legal challenge – to oppose the President’s action. (11.20.2014)

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 68%: “If the President truly follows through on this attempt to impose his will unilaterally, he will have issued a rebuke to his own stated view of democracy. … The instances of President Obama saying that he does not have the power to do the kinds of things he now plans to do are almost too numerous to list. .. The action he’s proposed would ignore the law.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) 24%: “However, what I cannot support is immigration changes in the form of a Presidential fiat – an action publicly called unlawful by President Obama twenty two separate times. What’s changed, aside from him being on the other side of an election?” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA) 71%: “I strongly oppose the President’s latest overreach of his legal authority and his decision to dictate sweeping immigration policy changes without legislation. America’s immigration system is badly broken and cries out for reform, including stronger border security and adequate opportunities for legal immigration. Regrettably, President Obama’s unilateral and legally unauthorized actions will do nothing to fix our broken system, and could encourage even more illegal immigration.” (11.20.2014)

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) 47%: This amnesty order undermines the rule of law and threatens our system of checks and balances. … No president has the authority to act unilaterally in this manner – something that the courts will surely determine. In the coming months, the new Republican Congress will look to use the power of the purse and the judicial system to rein in this executive overreach.” (11.20.2014)

And yes, the roughly dozen Democrats who expressed opposition to Obama’s executive actions voted against the point of order, too.

I wonder if perhaps Ted Cruz knew exactly what this would do. He flushed out the worst of the backstabbing hypocrites. They can now hopefully see an end to their disgusting US Senate careers, buried in their hypocrisy.

With some reinforcements in the US Senate this time around, the Cruzers will hopefully be an even stronger voice defending constitutional conservatism.

All members of the GOPe. Those who are up for reelection in 2016 need to be defeated (primary preferred, but in the general if neccessary).

If you are not a big corporate executive campaign contributor, a K Street lobbyist, or a member of the Country Club set, the GOPe does not care about you.

My 2016 presidential vote is pretty much coming down to this issue. Anyone with too limp a wrist to vote against treason is not going to get my vote against Clinton/Warren/Marx. It's Cruz, someone else who actually stood up against the far left extremists, or no one as far as I'm concerned. Obamacare, the Second Amendment, and Amnesty are all litmus test issues, and anyone who doesn't actually stand up for America on those issues is unacceptable.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) are all on the list of Senators not up for re-election in 2016.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) is running for re-election in 2016.

Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) will be 73 years old and is preparing to run for re-election in 2016.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is running for re-election in 2016.

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) claims he is running for re-election in 2016 but has had medical problems.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at age 80 is up for re-election in 2016. I pray that we will finally be rid of him in the primary if he refuses to retire.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is up for re-election in 2016 and is running. I pray that we will finally be rid of her in the primary.

Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA) is up for re-election in 2016 and is running.

Preach it, brother! We should start now to prepare all freepers and other conservatives for a write in campaign if the GOPe manages to get a Rino as the Repub. candidate AND we must do all we can to remind people how these traitorous Senators voted. We now at least have names, a list and a voting record thanks to Cruz.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.