Posted on 03/07/2015 6:12:43 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Remember how some thought a GOP majority in Congress would lead to a meaningful change in direction? Remember the promises from John Boehner that on a crucial issue he would whip a minority GOP votes to join 100% of House Democrats to oppose a strong majority of House Republicans?
I remember the former but have no recollection of the latter. Given this week's approval to fund the Department of Homeland Security, it turns out that the latter happened and the former is an extraordinarily distant memory. Less than 1/3rd of Republicans joined every single Democrat in voting for the bill. In other words, the results were almost identical to those that would be expected if the clock were rolled back to 2009, Pelosi was the Speaker, the GOP was in the minority.
The Daily Kos described it this way, "Boehner caves, Pelosi triumphs..." in their headline for the story.
The first sentence in the Washington Post's article began with "Boehner surrendered Tuesday to Democratic demands...".
During the middle of the fight to avoid a DHS "shutdown," soundbites abounded with dire warnings if the Republicans didn't relent and continue the funding; Pelosi released a statement and said:
“The world is far too dangerous for House Republicans to show so little regard for the security of American families. Republicans should join with Democrats to keep the American people safe, protect our homeland, and bring a clean, long-term DHS funding bill to a vote immediately.”
We know that to be a completely false and hyper-dramatic absurdity, as 85% of DHS employees are considered essential. In other words, almost every person there would NOT have been affected by a shutdown. One assumes that each night around 5 PM most of the "essential" employees go home for the evening and they probably also take Saturday and Sunday off as well. Yet no one clamors for 24-hour shifts and 7-day workweeks for every single DHS worker.
Certainly Boehner and the 74 others who voted with him knew this. So why did he cave/surrender?
Reports are that the Speaker thought the fight was unwinnable. After the vote, making reference to the bill passed in January that included amendments that directly countered the President's amnesty actions, he said this:
“The House has done its job by passing legislation to fund DHS and block the president's executive actions on immigration. Unfortunately, the fight was never won in the other chamber. Democrats stayed united and blocked our bill, and our Republican colleagues in the Senate never found a way to win this fight.”
So it was Mitch McConnell - who happens to lead a majority of his own - that was the problem. Got it.
Perhaps it moved him to tears that a former DHS chief-of-staff spoke to the Washington Post about the morale problems a funding halt would present? Or a concern that despite the results of last Fall's elections that he really thinks that bipartisanship is what America really needs or wants?
Whatever the actual motivation, the Democrat tactic of interpreting any and all electoral wins as a mandate is something the Republican leader certainly is not on board with. In that vein, one can reasonably wonder what good is a majority if you don't do anything with it. So far, the answer is "none at all."
The problem that I see with a 3rd party being formed is that it too would be infiltrated by liars and schemers.
It would be destroyed from within as quickly as possible, it would be demonized by both of our current “parties”.
The root of the problem is that we have a large number of people who are absolutely insane, completely obsessed with power, and totally bent on crashing this train into the brick wall as hard as they can, then rebuilding a new and better train from the wreckage.
As long as we have people in this country who do not know what freedom is, or why it exists, or how it was won, or what it takes to keep it, we are going to have this problem.
Republicans and Democrats agree that the purpose of the State is redistribution. How much, and to whom, and under what circumstances, there are disagreements. But no elected officials of either Party believe that it is wrong to take from you and give to another of their own choosing, for reasons that make sense to them.
Republicans and Democrats agree that you have “rights” - lots of them. They also agree that any question ABOUT your “rights”, or whether or not something IS a “right”, should not be decided by a political process because that is “divisive”. So, they both agree that the voice of “the People” as contemplated in Articles IX and X can only be voiced by nine unelected life tenure judges, and that five of them, at any time or for any reason, can give new “rights” and take away old ones, particularly if those old ones arise out of majority voting.
Republicans and Democrats all believe in “diversity”. They, ignoring completely the results of all social science research on this subject, and contrary to millennia of human experience and wisdom, believe that the more “diverse” our country, its institutions, and any private entities within her become, the more cohesive and productive we will become.
Republicans and Democrats almost all believe in “free trade” and “immigration”. These things are good for various constituencies of both parties while they wreck the economy and the nation.
Many of the People, perhaps a majority, do not believe in any of these things.
But in our existing system, captive as it is to the MSM-mandated “process” for choosing two candidates for POTUS neither of whom will change a thing, leaves the People with no voice.
Something’s gonna blow.
In the words of that great philosopher “Suck it up, dudes !”. We now have a government ‘of the government, by the government, for the government’. The system has won and America is nothing more than a footnote in World History. Kneel and obey, otherwise an IRS audit, or worse, lies in your future. If anyone feels otherwise, I would really appreciate anything contrary. Don’t forget ‘Kneel and obey’.
Time to forget politics. Get right with GOD and your AR.
Sorry. My fault. I actually had HOPE that this time, the GOP would do what is right.
That’ll learn me...
But, I don’t want to be stupid...
Call it a character flaw.
Thank you for referencing that article SeekAndFind. Please bear in mind that the following critique is directed at the article and not at you.
Don’t forget that citizens are partly to blame for our deadbeat Congress. This is because citizens are the ones who originally pressured state lawmakers to ratify the ill-conceived 17th Amendment (17A), foolishly giving up the voices of the constitutionally powerful states legislatures in constitutionally humbled Congress.
I keep thinking that Obama would have been impeached out of office by now if it weren’t for 17A. Citizens have been two slow to wise up to corrupt Obama and build up the 2/3 Senate majority needed to remove him from office.
The 17th Amendment needs to be repealed.
That’s for sure. God will not bless a nation who abandons Him or His people.
That is an excellent analysis. It does boil down to the fact that people have choice or only an illusion of choice.
I also think that something is going to blow, especially seeing this government import 3rd world voters right in front of our eyes, and there doesn’t seem to be a thing to do to stop them.
I did the same thing in both 2012 and 2014.
I believe that a positive has come from the 2014 election though. It has clearly illustrated to all what the GOP is. I am not sure how many will actually see that illustration, but it is there, right in front of all of our faces.
er I mean no* choice...
I’m curious to understand the logic that thinks the lawless will somehow obey a new law, when the old laws are declared null and void and simply ignored by Executive and legislative decree???
A lawless government will not allow itself to be restrained by any Article V Amendment that passes if they willfully circumvent the existing ones.
As NTHockey said - all the other boxes are now gone save one.
We are extremely far past the point of restraining tyranny via civil means.
And the regime knows this and has made preparations for what is to come.
I agree with what you said, I think the likely outcome of an Article V convention is that it will be ineffective in reigning in this lawless beast.
The main reason I support taking this step or trying to take this step is so that we can say we exhausted every possible civil option at our disposal to resolve this situation before we were left with no choice but to...
I think it’s the right thing to do, because the nature of the last box is such that if there were a way to avoid that, that way should be tried.
Sadly, I think I may be dreaming on a civil way out, it is very possible if not probable that there isn’t one.
I, for one, refuse to pander for an ‘explanation’.
Much longer without some tangible action...
&
It’s ‘rubber hose’ time.
The real reason they did not shut down the government: It would make Ted Cruz’s support for last time’s shutdown seem correct.
We are certainly in agreement then.
I have nothing against an Article V Amendment process, however - I have as much hostility to the notion that such a process is going to save us and restore the Republic as I am to those who tell us salvation will occur if we just vote for more Republicans.
A lawless tyranny is never going to allow itself to be restrained by ‘law’. It will require uncivil means to enforce laws that a regime has decided have no authority, and likewise a lawless tyranny will have to impose it’s will by force upon a people who decide they no longer have any authority.
And therein is where I think we can force the tyrant’s hands. We no longer comply with tyranny anymore than they will not comply with the Constitution.
Guess which entity will use the end of a gun to force compliance first?
That is probably closer to the truth.
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