Posted on 03/20/2010 3:12:22 PM PDT by jazusamo
As Democrats frantically tried to cobble together votes to pass their sweeping health care reform legislation Saturday, House Republicans began a victory lap of sorts.
First, in a meeting of the House Republican Conference, the GOP’s leadership rallied the troops with flourishing rhetoric about regaining the majority in the fall.
“I don’t know, quite frankly, whether victory will come on the third Sunday in March or on the first Tuesday in November, but victory will come,” House Republican Conference leader Mike Pence of Indiana told Republicans Saturday afternoon.
And when they emerged from the room to speak to the media and a crush of video cameras, House Republican leaders were met by a boisterous crowd of citizens screaming “kill the bill” and nodding in unison to their promises to continue the fight to derail the legislation.
Saturday’s schedule gives an idea of how confident Republicans are feeling. Republicans opened up their closed conference meeting to television cameras and reporters, GOP lawmakers were hosting telephone town halls in Democratic swing districts and Republicans were whipping undecided Democrats to vote against the legislation they’ve been wrangling over for more than a year.
This all comes after a week where House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio gave a series of interviews expressing confidence that Republicans could take back the House in November.
“There are more activities going on than you would see in a normal campaign,” Boehner told reporters.
Boehner, who helped orchestrate the 1994 GOP takeover of the House, was somewhat of a rock star Saturday. He ditched his black SUV for a trip back from the Cannon House Office building to the Capitol, crossing Independence Avenue on foot to waves of cheers. He posed for a photo – the unfortunate gentleman’s camera was full – and even kissed a woman on a motorized scooter.
Perhaps the most stunning – and unscripted – moment for Republicans came when they emerged from their conference meeting to a stakeout point that’s typically filled with a handful of Capitol Hill reporters. Roughly 100 citizens gathered in the Cannon rotunda – held back by Capitol Police officers – cheering the GOP’s leadership.
The rhetoric was hardly new – Republicans rehashed many of the same lines they’ve been using for about a year. But judging by the crowd’s response, it seemed as if the party’s leadership had spontaneously topped Shakespeare.
“It’s important that they understand that its not the president’s House, that it’s not the speaker’s House, that it’s the people’s House, and this weekend House Republicans will stand with the American people and do everything in our power to defend their freedom and bring about health care reform that gives them more freedom and not more government,” Pence said to cheers.
Even Rep. Paul Ryan, the wonky top Republican on the Budget committee, got his moment.
“They don’t now have the votes for it and I sure hope they won’t,” he said.
They struck a populist tone, much to the delight of the crowd. Boehner said he was trying to coax House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to force her members to go to the floor and before "God, their countrymen and their constituents," and unveil how they would vote.
“I thank all of the Americans that have come here to join us in this fight – the fight is nearing an end, but if we continue to work hard and listen to the American people, we can defeat this bill,” House Minority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia said.
Perhaps he was feeling the energy from the crowd, but less than an hour after he told his conference that they couldn’t stop the bill, even calling Sunday Armegeddon, Boehner had a new message for the crowd gathered in the Cannon Rotunda.
“This health care bill would ruin our country,” he said. “It’s time to stop it.”
One person in the crowd responded, “That’s right.”
“I will add, I BLAME BUSH FOR HIS TOTAL LACK OF FIGHT AND LEADERSHIP HIS LAST TERM. HE LET THESE RATS GET POWER AND DEFINE HIS PRESIDENCY.”
“He definitely caused the creation of liberal rise.”
Include Rove and homosexual marriage Cheney, television (liberal newtworks pounding Busha nd now Fox cheering Obama) and do not forget:
McCain-Feingold which helped the Dems greatly.
You’re telling me?
I’m the one who has preached to hard-core conservatives against going 3rd party for 20 years.
But listen to yourself. We are where we are because of the GOP, because they handed us only RINOs to vote for, and because they actively campaigned against truly conservative Republicans to hand us those RINOs.
EFF voting for someone simply because they have an R. THAT IS WHY WE ARE IN THIS MESS.
I don’t care what their party is. If they are a conservative, I will vote for them. I will not vote for someone simply because they are an R.
We gave them both houses back in the early 90’s AND THEY BLEW IT.
We took heaps of ridicule and abuse for 8 years defending Mr. Big Government Bush, and they flipped us the bird and gave us McCain.
The GOP needs a Come-to-Jesus moment where they realize their core is middle-class conservative America. If they continue to ridicule us, marginalize us, and pick the country-club, Rockefeller R’s that meet THEIR needs, to hell with that. They need to learn. And the best way they can learn is to lose to true conservatives.
So we have two options at this point.
We vote for any and all Republicans and HOPE they don’t stab us in the back, like they have for nearly 20 years.
Or we vote for conservatives (some Republicans and anyone else) and we don’t win.
OH MY GOSH!!!
If we do that, they’ll have a majority in both houses and may actually win the WH!!!
OH, WAIT. THEY ALREADY HAVE THAT!!!!
Did we have a conservative candidate in 2008?
The field was very weak. And it will be weak again unless someone steps up.
...Don’t waste yer vote, vote libertarian, or independent, or constitutional or at least conservative. Throw the left and right wing one party BUMS out!!!
Neither McCain or Graham but Zell Miller comes along once in a long time.
Emanuel for two elections had Dems pretend to be conservative to get elected and he did a good job. I say we really investigate candidates who claim to be a Dem and conservative.
They definitely flipped Rush, and conservatives, the bird. As far as McNuts, it was a combination of the State Run Media and the liberal wing of the GOP! Unforgivable in both cases!
Many don’t know but Politico is really a left wing site
"I don't know, quite frankly, whether victory will come on the third Sunday in March or on the first Tuesday in November, but victory will come," House Republican Conference leader Mike Pence of Indiana told Republicans Saturday afternoon. ... This all comes after a week where House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio gave a series of interviews expressing confidence that Republicans could take back the House in November... Boehner, who helped orchestrate the 1994 GOP takeover of the House, was somewhat of a rock star Saturday. He ditched his black SUV for a trip back from the Cannon House Office building to the Capitol, crossing Independence Avenue on foot to waves of cheers... "It's important that they understand that its not the president's House, that it's not the speaker's House, that it's the people's House, and this weekend House Republicans will stand with the American people and do everything in our power to defend their freedom and bring about health care reform that gives them more freedom and not more government," Pence said to cheers. Even Rep. Paul Ryan, the wonky top Republican on the Budget committee, got his moment. "They don't now have the votes for it and I sure hope they won't," he said... "I thank all of the Americans that have come here to join us in this fight -- the fight is nearing an end, but if we continue to work hard and listen to the American people, we can defeat this bill," House Minority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia said.Thanks jazusamo.
I know my family was much better off under Bush and do I miss him yet??? you bet you biffs I do...
I'm retired, time to GOTV and I just had a cochlear implant and I'm anxious to get busy.
If you vote for anything but Republican, you are playing a role in the re-election of Barack Obama.
Sorry but that is just the reality. The liberal vote is soild. Which means they will run this government uncontested if the GOP split.
If so that may be a good thing.
We will see.
I do hope some yes votes have a come to Jesus moment on the Sabbath during Lent and vote no.
Time to get over BLAME BUSH, let the History books take care of that...
I'll be working and supporting SARAH PALIN if she decides to run, I will NOT support Huck, Mitt, or any other loaf of stale bread...
Agreed. Thompson, as a Senator, really went after Clinton and knew what was going on with China. That’s why I supported him above the others, but he didn’t have much of a shot.
The problem is that if the GOP does not learn their lesson, if a real conservative steps up but doesn’t pass the GOP country-club test, that conservative will not only be abandoned, he (or she, think Palin) will be ridiculed by the GOP.
That’s why I keep saying, the GOP has to come back to US in contrition and they have to support CONSERVATISM. If they try to shove RINOs down our throat, we have nothing else to lose at this point by NOT voting for him/her.
Little early to be celebrating any sort of victory.
“...‘F’ing Dems ought to be locked up for the criminals they are.”
That would be a start. Treason has a higher penalty as well....”
Amen. First off, we must realize that the Rat party, including the whole educational system etc., has been infiltrated with communists and its taken them years to get to this point. The Democratic Party is now, in essence, a communist party. This goes all the way back to the beginnings of the Cold War. I’m old enough to remember Nikita Khrushchev telling us: “We will bury you”. The commies knew they could never do it militarily from the outside. They also knew they didn’t stand a chance economically either so they’ve infiltrated a major party and now rule (btw, both parties have them). Those few left in the Rat party that are not commies (some call em Blue Dogs) have been brow beat with what some us are calling Chicago thuggery. Its not, its communistic thuggery. As I said, this has been coming for a long time and its now at the door where they’re ready to destroy the middle class and enslave em. They plan on destroying what’s left of this once great experiment in individual freedom and liberty for mankind and transforming it into a draconian socialist state. Don’t doubt for a minute that they have plans for the likes of us down the road and I have no doubt it will be beyond belief how ugly it will be. I’m not dramatizing, just look at their track record throughout the world in how they dealt with those that opposed them. Back when Nikita was around, we always said; “the only good commie is a dead commie”. What is going on right now is outright high treason and jail is way too good for them. We’ve been subjected to a bloodless coup thats been years in the making.
JASS 1968(IS THAT THE YEAR OF YOUR BIRTH?, If so I’m old enough to be your mom)
OBSVIOUSLY YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT THE DEMOCRATS CONTROLLED CONGRESS JAN.2007
And yet many people still say we need to play fair and above reproach. They’ll be saying that all the way to the ovens.
I prefer President Cantor—first Jewish President.
It’s JAZZ
Yes, they won power in 2006 running against Bush.
That was their whole campaign strategy and Bush played dead and let them.
You point is?
“...And yet many people still say we need to play fair and above reproach. They’ll be saying that all the way to the ovens....”
History has an eerie way of often repeating itself, my friend. Those that refuse to learn from it are also doomed to suffer the repeat of it.
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