Posted on 12/18/2015 6:03:36 AM PST by xzins
Why I won't support the latest last-minute $1.1 trillion spending bill. By SEN. TED CRUZ December 17, 2015
It's Christmastime in Washington, D.C., and that can mean only one thing: Congress is once again playing Santa Claus. The names at the top of its list are the Washington Cartel: The big businesses and lobbyists who get in bed with career politicians to do nothing but grow government. And left off the list: the American taxpayer.
Thanks to last year's landslide elections, Republicans now control more seats in Congress, more governorships and more state legislative seats across the country than at any time since the 1920s. We retired Harry Reid and took control of the Senate. And yet today marks a milestone and an ignominious one. Before long, Republican leaders in the Senate and House intend to join hands with a majority of Congressional Democrats to pass a bill that funds President Barack Obama's disastrous agenda well into 2016.
So how did the Republican leadership in Congress embrace its mandate for change? Let me count the ways:
First, shortly after taking the reins of power in the Senate, the GOP-led Congress fully funded President Obama's illegal and unconstitutional amnesty. Then, the GOP-led Congress institutionalized and expanded Obamacare policies by permanently surrendering on the so-called "doc fix." To accomplish this feat GOP leadership broke with the long-established bipartisan practice of paying for the doc fix and added half a trillion dollars to our nation's debt over two decades.
Then, GOP leadership confirmed Loretta Lynch, Obama's nominee for attorney general, who told us all ahead of time that she intended to ignore the plain text of the law. Next, Senate GOP leadership facilitated the approval of Obama's disastrous Iranian nuclear deal. They did so via a convoluted, backwards disapproval process that was designed to fail, and then did nothing to prevent the deal's implementation or stop more than $100 billion from going to Iran and its terror proxies.
Then the GOP-led Congress forfeited what was left of its budget discipline and passed former Speaker John Boehner's Golden Parachute budget deal. This deal added $80 billion in federal spending and debt above the 2011 budget caps, the one conservative budget victory in the Obama era.
In December, the GOP-led Congress ushered through an irresponsible multibillion-dollar highway funding bill that reauthorized the expired, cronyist Export-Import Bank, and put taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in corporate welfare.
The GOP-led Congress this month also passed yet another massive education overhaul with unanimous Democratic support. The overhaul perpetuated top-down mandates that do little to reduce the large and ever-growing role of the federal government in education.
And while I am encouraged that the GOP-led Congress finally took a significant step toward repealing Obamacare and defunding Planned Parenthood in this month's budget reconciliation bill, GOP leadership included it in a bill that commanded no leverage with Obama. They placed it in a bill the president will instantly veto, instead of including these priorities in Friday's government funding bill, one that must be signed into law if the president wants to keep the federal government open.
To understand the priorities of Republican leadership, contrast these actions with the last-minute stocking stuffers that did make their way into this must-pass bill to fund the government:
+ Quadrupling of H-2B visas for low-skilled workers, which will only drag down wages, kill American jobs, and hurt working men and women
+ An open door to fund the president's Green Climate Fund that will effectively rubber stamp the job-killing Paris climate
+ Relief from Obamacare taxes for well-connected labor unions and the healthcare industry, while millions of Americans continue to suffer under Obamacare's skyrocketing premiums, deductibles, and lower quality of care
+ And a complete failure to prevent the resettling of refugees from nations where ISIL or Al-Qaeda controls large swaths of territory—this despite a veto-proof majority in the House of Representatives in favor of strengthening the screening process for refugees
Since taking control of the Senate, Republican leadership has joined hands with a majority of Democrats to thwart their own caucus' efforts to stop the Obama agenda 24 times. During each of these 24 votes, this so-called Republican majority successfully passed legislation with a majority of Democrats in support and a majority of Republicans opposed. This is why I have said that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is the most effective Democratic leader in modern
But don't take my word for it. Take Sen. Chuck Schumer's, the vice chair of the Senate Democratic conference. Today Sen. Schumer summed up what's wrong with Washington when he told Politico, "Sen. McConnell wants to see the Senate work. But the good news for [Democrats] is, to make it work, he has to do basically our agenda."
Though the Senate majority leader promised a return to "regular order" this year, we have seen minimal attempts to pass individual appropriations bills. These targeted bills would fund the government piece-by-piece and enable the people's representatives to have a greater say in how their tax dollars are spent.
Instead, in a tactic that will go mostly unnoticed, this government funding deal was once again negotiated behind closed doors, and then, like several recent "must-pass" bills, will be rammed through the Senate in no time with limited debate and no floor amendments via a parliamentary mechanism called a "privileged message." A privileged message is a tool that has been abused by Congressional leadership to circumvent committees of jurisdiction and bypass regular order of business to expedite legislation for immediate final passage.
Leadership is employing this tactic to pass a one-trillion-dollar-plus spending bill at the last minute in a matter of days without giving the American people a chance to debate whether it advances their ideals or their best interests. It's all or nothing. Take it or leave it. They will countenance no debate on whether we should continue to fund Obamacare, or Planned Parenthood, or the disastrous Iranian nuclear deal. There's one light switch to fund the government, and we can turn it either on or off.
Leadership will call this "legislating." "Governing," they say, their voices set an octave lower to convey an informed seriousness. And while they exit the U.S. Capitol, patting themselves on their backs, and make beelines for Washington cocktail parties where many a toast will be raised to their "effectiveness," working Americans who will never step foot in a Georgetown salon will continue to struggle under this administration's failed policies.
When I'm traveling this country, people often ask me why Washington isn't listening. Over and over again, from coast to coast, they ask me how Washington can be so tone deaf to their volcanic frustration with the failed tax and spend policies that have absolutely crushed them. Well, I am listening to them, which is why I cannot and will not support this massive crony Christmas gift—a bill that effectively forfeits our massive Republican victories of 2014 and cements Obama's priorities for nearly the full remainder of his term.
On just the H2B program alone, with Sessions in the lead, the Republicans could fight off Obama and the media saying "the republicans shut down congress."
Republicans could say: "We want America to know that this bill takes American jobs and puts them in the hands of foreigners who aren't even here yet. We have millions unemployed. We announce today the "Save American Jobs for Americans" Campaign to defeat this bill."
And they would win. I know they'd win.
But they won't even try.
It has been the UniParty for some time now. Traitors to their electorate, traitors to their oath of office and traitors to the Consitution.
I don’t care about all the Republicans who will vote against it to look good.....236 of the House members picked Paul Ryan as Speaker.
Those 236 Republicans should never receive our votes under any circumstances even if it allows a Democrat to win, because there isn’t any difference between the two parties in the end as the Uniparty drives this country down with more spending and more debt.
I’d like to be able to say they were bought by Saudi Arabia, but I’m afraid they’re bought by anyone who offers them money.
They aren’t a mistress. They be whores.
They AGREE with him on the fundamentals, with some minor quibbles over implementation details.
The ruling coalition is united around several things that the people are against. They are skilled at setting up phony issues (or issues that don't concern the Federal government) to break up the formation of any possible other coalition.
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.
The outsider surge is evidence that your statement is correct. In history, communist leaders have always fomented revolution so they could have the chance to be the ones able to pick up the pieces. Obama having 8 years to shape the leadership of the military makes this significant.
I don't think they are nearly at the point where he has won them over. A Hillary 8 years would be devasting, though. 16 years straight of socialist leadership could get our military near the tipping point.
That's one reason the 2nd amendment is so crucial to them. They know that 300 million armed Americans can defeat even an army when properly led.
That Congress has not yet impeached Traitorobama for giving aid and comfort to the enemy is overwhelming testimony that Congress is complicit in treason. Selling this nation down the economic drain is just more traitorous icing on the cake.
Demonicrat or Republicrat - they are all incumbents traitors.
536 should be in prison and their assets seized. We were not born to be debt slaves to criminals.
Socialism Is Legal Plunder - Frederic Bastiat
Basically, when Boehner left under fire from a handful of allegedly conservative Republicans, the OLIGARCHY, went in to high gear and got themselves THEIR MAN in Boehners place.. ......Paul Ryan!
The handful of pretend conservatives caved again because they could have stopped him!
Constituents?!
Yes sir!
The problem is beyond the GOP, the Congressional leadership in both parties has incrementally abandoned its constitutional responsibilities. The separation of powers was designed to put interest against interest, not just politically, but institutionally. Political interests now overwhelmingly trump institutional interests.
Congress has quietly surrendered its power. It has not defended its legislative prerogatives by restricting court jurisdiction, overturning decisions restricting legislative power, or impeaching judges who actively usurp Congressional power by rewriting legislation from the bench. Concurrently, it has passed broad legislation, delegating the specifics to the executive branch and reducing its ability to influence events.
Congress is at the nadir of its influence, I can’t imagine previous Speakers of the House such as Sam Rayburn or even Tip O’Neill surrendering so much power to the executive. Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, and even Clinton all had to work hard to get legislation through Congresses of their own party. Harry Reid and Pelosi and the bulk of the current Democrat caucus are effectively subordinates of the President, ensuring that there is little to no institutional resistance to the Administration.
This presents a problem for the GOP Congressional leadership, who unfortunately are affected by the same mentality. Their deference to the Executive is in part the result of an inability to imagine how they can resist. They seem to believe that regardless of how unpopular a proposal may be, opposing the President and standing up for Congressional prerogatives can only end in disaster.
Which I find curious, as Trump’s increasing popularity should be a clarion call that the GOP electorate expects more from them.
This is why Ted Cruz is intensely disliked in the vicious snake pit of corruption, backstabbing and betrayal of Washington, DC. He kept his solemn promises to conservative voters in Texas with his honor intact. This proven courage in the lion's den is the reason I admire and trust Cruz more than anyone I've voted for in the past forty years including Ronald Reagan.
Thanks Ted for providing that sickening litany.
I can t wait until he takes office and does battle with these sell-outs.
He won t work with them, he will take his case to the people and defeat them.
Yes, they could’ve. But then they’d get bad “press”. Like that’s something new. Tell me when they have ever gave anyone on the true right good press? Only McCain and Lindsley.....
INSANITY!!!
Term limits, please.
The computerized voting machines in my precinct stopped having paper tape backups 2 years ago.
Why vote if you have no idea if the computer is counting your votes? And no way to tell if it isn’t?
K here’s the deal. I’m thinking when a new congressman is elected, he travels to Washington.
His first meeting is in the underground THRONE ROOM OF SATAN.
Then they “evolve” and do all manner of inexplicable things.
+1
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