Posted on 01/17/2015 4:14:11 AM PST by HomerBohn
Republican voters believed they had sent a message to Washington in November when they voted to increase the GOP majority in the House and give Republicans a Senate majority for the first time since 2007.
If a message was sent, it was not received. Weeper of the House of John Boehner got only a token challenge for his speakership. Most of the new freshmen sent to Congress to change the status quo in the House turned into congressweasels before they’d even moved their furniture into their new Capitol Hill offices. That’s even quicker than usual. Normally, they hold out a few months before they turn into undead psychopaths out for perks, power and the aggrandizement of the establishment.
Even though polls showed 60 percent or more of Republican voters wanted a new speaker of the House to replace the orange-tinged faux conservative, and even though reports were that congressional phone lines, faxes and emails were ringing off the hook or bulging with calls to oust Boehner, all but 25 of the so-called “conservatives” in the House bowed to the establishment and voted to grow government and continue to capitulate to the undocumented usurper currently despoiling the people’s House. The elites, as always, held on to their power.
Boehner moved quickly to retaliate against his challengers for being so uppity as to deign to vote as their constituents demanded. It sends a message that you toe the party line, regardless of your conscience or the wishes of the voters. Retaliation of that sort is small-minded, petty and a sign of profound insecurity. It’s also part of the nature of the psychopathy that draws people to politics. They go to Washington for prestige, payola and privilege; and they retire rich. Any perceived threat to this reality must be crushed, and crushed quickly, lest it take root.
Boehner is now beginning his third term as speaker. He had promised to serve only one. Of course, he’s promised a lot of other things over the past several years and not delivered. Like most of the political class, for Boehner a promise is good only so long as it is useful to fool enough voters to result in another term. Once the election’s behind them, they go back to the business of legislating more pork for their cronies — so that some can be kicked back into their pockets — and growing fascist government. He’s still trying to fool people by rejecting claims he’s part of the “establishment.”
The capitulators came up with all manner of justifications for selling out to the establishment. Rep. Mo Brooks, now a former Tea Party favorite from North Alabama, was excoriated on his Facebook page after he posted his excuse for casting a vote for Boehner:
Despite serious reservations, today I voted for John Boehner for House Speaker because there was no better option before me. I would have loved the opportunity to elect a principled Speaker who shares Alabama’s conservative values. Unfortunately, that was not a viable option because we lack the votes to elect such a Speaker… I don’t support chaos and government shutdowns. I believe it unwise and counterproductive for the GOP Congress’ first act to be a dysfunctional inability to elect a Speaker followed by chaos… Hence, the best option was voting for House Speaker John Boehner. So I did…
The post drew almost 900 responses, the vast majority of them negative. Tony Lauffer’s response was typical: “Mo Brooks: The REASON no conservative candidate had a chance is because SPINELESS, GUTLESS, UNPRINCIPLED PEOPLE LIKE YOU FAILED TO GET BEHIND ONE EARLY AND PROMOTE THEM!!!! YOU SHOULD BE RECALLED BY THE GOOD, CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE OF ALABAMA!!!!”
Unfortunately for Brooks’ constituents, there is no provision for recalling a candidate in Alabama.
Mia Love, a darling of the Tea Party and conservatives, at least before Wednesday, sounded much like Brooks in a Washington Examiner interview. “There were no qualified or notable campaigns for speaker within the Republican Party other than John Boehner,” Love said. “Casting a vote for a candidate who has not actively campaigned and does not have the support to be speaker is an indirect vote for Nancy Pelosi, and I will not vote for Nancy Pelosi.”
To paraphrase Dame Clinton, what difference does it make? After the vote, Boehner was photographed hugging and smooching on his predecessor, Pelosi — an awkward, if not revealing, moment.
The status quo of the political monopoly remains. The government wins again. Whoever wins, you lose. Politicians are politicians under any brand. They are paid and pensioned by Washington. Where do you think that their loyalties lie?
The quicker we come to terms with reality about politics in America, the closer we come to serious action to restore freedom of the individual. Conservatives need to quit playing the part of an ever-returning battered spouse and recognize the Republican elites will just slap you around again next time a vote on an important liberty-related issue arises.
The government and its politicians are at war with us and they are the only ones that recognize it. How many Americans actually know that government hit men can arrest you, search you without a warrant, seize property without cause and not return it, and freeze bank accounts so that legal defense can’t be hired. All this and they may never charge you with a crime.
We are fully aware that few people can grasp the limits of freedom imposed upon Americans. We have been taught “freedom and democracy” so long that we love big brother no matter what.
So what is a good Republican voter to do?
First and foremost, he must come to terms with the fact that voting for more Republicans to send to Washington will not change the status quo. Who remembers how big and how fast government grew under the “compassionate conservative” George W. Bush when he had a Republican Congress? In seven years under Bush, federal spending jumped from $1.86 trillion in 2001 to $2.98 trillion in 2008, a jump of 60 percent or a growth rate of 7 percent.
Bush and Republicans gave us No Child Left Behind, the USA Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, perpetual war and bailouts. Those measures are certainly not conservative by any stretch of the imagination.
Though it is certainly no guarantee for success, Republican voters should concentrate on finding candidates for state and local elections who will uphold the Constitution they swear to uphold and who are willing to take a bold stand for state’s rights and against federal tyranny. It’s at the state level that nullification of unconstitutional federal laws is to take place, as outlined by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1789.
If you feel you must take on national issues, push for term limits and the repeal of the 17th Amendment.
Gradualism — a glacial move away from federalism led by national politicians who used and continue to use the Federal Treasury to buy votes and reward crony corporations and intrude into state issues, and used by an activist federal judiciary — has turned republicanism on its head and into a fascist system of tyranny and oppression. To peacefully restore constitutional governance will be a gradual and difficult process, and its probability of success remains in doubt.
“Casting a vote for a candidate who has not actively campaigned and does not have the support to be speaker is an indirect vote for Nancy Pelosi, and I will not vote for Nancy Pelosi.”
This is, of course, a lie, unless Republicans don’t show up to vote, since they have a majority of the House and a majority of those present and voting is the requirement to elect a speaker of the house.
We should not think that our fellow sinners or any political party can or will ultimately deliver us from evil. Only God can do that. Prayer for deliverance and a national revival by the Holy Spirit should be right up there at the top of our lists of priorities. In the end, only the Lord can save us from our self-destruction.
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses,
Who trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
Nor seek the Lord!...For the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Lawgiver,
The Lord is our King;
He will save us... (Isaiah 31:1, 33:22)
Forgot a few others
1) No ‘benefits’ paid from the Treasury. Public service was (IS) to be a altruistic act.
2) (Though I can find no basis in the act, at it stands currently), D.C. shall have NO immunity to any law/act/regulation or the like that effects We the People in any manner.
3) No $$ shall be given by any entity that can not vote (no biz, no unions, no unions, etc.)
4) Sunshine Law for D.C. - We the People have every right to know the working of those they elect to office. No closed doors, no secret meetings, etc. w/out a loss of office immediately.
No, it would make the GOP run people whom would bring out the vote (and the funding, that’s #1).
It currently matters not, since the GOP presumes all votes belong to whomever they foist as the flag-bearer
• No earmarks. Earmarks have become a symbol of a broken Washington, and an entire lobbying industry has been created around them. The speaker of the House shouldn't use the power of the office to raid the federal Treasury for pork-barrel projects. To the contrary, the speaker should be an advocate for ending the current earmark process, and should adhere to a personal no-earmarks policy that stands as an example for all members of Congress to follow.
I have maintained a no-earmarks policy throughout my time of service in Congress. I believe the House must adopt a moratorium on all earmarks as a signal of our commitment to ending business as usual in the spending process.
• Let Americans read bills before they are brought to a vote. The speaker of the House should not allow any bill to come to a vote that has not been posted publicly online for at least three days. Members of Congress and the American people must have the opportunity to read it.
Similarly, the speaker should insist that every bill include a clause citing where in the Constitution Congress is given the power to pass it. Bills that can't pass this test shouldn't get a vote. House Republicans' new governing agenda, "A Pledge to America," calls for the speaker to implement such reforms immediately.
• No more "comprehensive" bills. The next speaker should put an end to so-called comprehensive bills with thousands of pages of legislative text that make it easy to hide spending projects and job-killing policies. President Obama's massive "stimulus" and health-care bills, written behind closed doors with minimal public scrutiny, were the last straw for many Americans. The American people are not well-served by "comprehensive," and they are rightly suspicious of the adjective.
• No more bills written behind closed doors in the speaker's office. Bills should be written by legislators in committee in plain public view. Issues should be advanced one at a time, and the speaker should place an emphasis on smaller, more focused legislation that is properly scrutinized, constitutionally sound, and consistent with Americans' demand for a less-costly, less-intrusive government.
The speaker of the House, like all members of Congress, is a servant of the American people. The individual entrusted with that high honor and responsibility should act accordingly. A speaker's mission should not be to consolidate power in the speaker's office, but rather to ensure that elected officials uphold their oath to defend the Constitution and the American people we serve. If a speaker carries out that mission successfully, the result should be legislation that better reflects the considerable challenges we face as a nation.
The American people deserve a majority in Congress that listens to the people, focuses on their priorities and honors their demands for smaller, more accountable government. Accountability starts at the top, in the office of the speaker.
A gentle reminder that Republican does not equal Conservative.
BUMP!
I forgot to add that after Boehner made that grandstand statement republicans joined with democrats to reject every point!
“The quicker we come to terms with reality about politics in America, the closer we come to serious action to restore freedom of the individual. Conservatives need to quit playing the part of an ever-returning battered spouse and recognize the Republican elites will just slap you around again next time a vote on an important liberty-related issue arises.
The government and its politicians are at war with us and they are the only ones that recognize it. How many Americans actually know that government hit men can arrest you, search you without a warrant, seize property without cause and not return it, and freeze bank accounts so that legal defense can’t be hired. All this and they may never charge you with a crime. “
New party.
It could be done much faster in today’s world.
Support Article V!
Support the Fair Tax!
The author writes:
“They go to Washington for prestige, payola and privilege; and they retire rich.”
Really?
About 50% of Congressmen were millionaires BEFORE they were elected.
Most members of Congress earn $174,000 per year.
About 600 Congressmen are now retired.
Their median income - pension plus Social Security - is less than $5,000 per month.
Senior Congressional leaders with 25 years of employment get retirement income of about $10,000 per month.
Congressmen, serving or retired, and their spouse, get excellent health insurance for life.
And I believe the surviving spouse gets the same pension amount for life, too, but Social Security makes that a really complicated number to determine.
All in all, the job of Senator or Congressman provides a solid upper middle class income, but they do need to pay for housing in two cities, although quite a few sleep in their office and shower in the gym.
The paycheck isn't how they become rich...
One of the ways is they use insider knowledge to invest. Another is they get hired by lobbying firms once they are out of Congress.
If we have to choose a benevolent despot, let's get one like they have in Hong Kong or Singapore.
Economically, Spain was a basket case from 1940-1960 under Franco.
It took Franco 20 years to finally embrace free markets and low taxation and create the “Spanish Miracle.”
I’ll buy the Singapore model.
Great, unhampered economic growth.
Very serious penalties for buying or dealing drugs. (Death=no drug problem)
The money quote.
Obama has little time to complete his transformation. I don't believe He will allow his despotic powers to fall into the hands of a non-leftist.
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