Free Republic

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is still nursing presidential aspirations, despite Republican unease about the “comprehensive immigration reform” he whole-heartedly supports, after losing an argument with himself and immediately backpedaling from a book he had only just published. Bush chose to deal with this unease by attacking the uneasy, referring to them as “chirpers” in a CBN interview following his appearance before the Faith and Freedom Coalition. ”I will be able to, I think, manage my way through all the ‘chirpers’ out there,” he said, apparently playing off Senator John McCain’s reference to his conservative colleagues Ted Cruz, Rand Paul,...

Reid is talking about calling for cloture this weekend. They want to get it voted on and out...while they can! Keep the pressure up!!

It now looks likely that an immigration reform bill will pass the Senate in the next few weeks with at least the required 60 or more votes, putting the onus squarely on Republican leadership in the House, or more particularly on one man, House Speaker John Boehner. If Boehner allows the House to vote on comprehensive bill, it would probably pass thanks to strong support from Democrats and enough Republicans to put it over the top, and this issue will be behind us. Conversely, if Boehner imposes the so-called "Hastert rule," permitting the House to vote only on those bills...

The Republican-led House will take its deepest dive yet into immigration reform this week, rushing to play catchup with the Senate on the chief domestic policy battle this year. The House bipartisan group, which has labored for four years without releasing anything, is finally on the verge of producing a bill. The House Judiciary Committee is holding its first immigration markup on Tuesday on an enforcement-centered bill that Democrats abhor. And the all-Democratic Congressional Hispanic Caucus will huddle with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday, and immigration will undoubtedly be a hot topic. “He’s the speaker of the House, the...

Twelve Republicans voted against John Boehner’s second term as speaker Thursday, making for a very tense final few minutes of the vote. At one point, in fact, the number either voting for someone else or not voting reached into the high teens, raising the possibility that Boehner wouldn’t secure a majority on the first ballot. Eventually, a few of those who hadn’t voted — including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) — cast their ballots for Boehner. Boehner won with 220 votes — six more than the 214 votes he needed. (A speaker needs only a majority of the actual votes cast,...

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) warned Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would face a conference revolt that could threaten his Speakership if he allows a House vote on the immigration bill presently being debated in the Senate. Conservatives have been pressuring Boehner to adhere to the unwritten “Hastert Rule” — named after former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) — that says no bill should come to the House floor unless it has the backing of a majority of a chamber's majority party. Rohrabacher said if Boehner moves forward with a vote on immigration reform without a Republican majority, it would be a “betrayal”...

Jeb Bush says he’s not worried that his work toward comprehensive immigration reform and his ties to the GOP establishment will alienate conservatives and negatively impact a potential 2016 presidential campaign, referring to critics as “the chirpers.” -snip- It’s not the first time, of course, that a Republican establishment figure has coined a new nickname for the outspoken conservative wing of the party. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) a few months ago labeled Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as “wacko birds.”

A rump caucus of renegade Republicans, backed by well-heeled outside conservative groups, are pushing to change internal House GOP rules to prohibit the party leadership from bringing legislation to the floor that does not have “majority-of-the-majority” support. -snip- “I don’t intend to bring an immigration bill to the floor that violates what I and what my members of my party, what our principles are,” Boehner told reporters late last week. “And so I continue to believe that you’ll see strong bipartisan majorities for bills that we bring to the floor.” To conservatives, that statement leaves Boehner a lot of wiggle...