Obama's Rubber Stamp Congress

Harry Reid should fight
alongside Republicans

We've got two more days before Democrats shut down our government, and yet they are still fighting over a law that no longer resembles the one they passed in 2010. Despite the overwhelming public opposition to the Affordable Care Act -- a misnomer if ever there was one -- Democrats refuse to let it die, or even become injured. How out of touch can they possibly be?

Our Founders were very clear in their rules laid out in the Constitution regarding how our new government would work. The Founders were painfully careful to divide powers among the three branches, precisely to prevent a future monarchy, or dictatorship. They gave the Executive branch a very short leash for these very reasons.

Now, I'm fully aware of how many times this has been said, and I realize that my readers are most likely yawning at this "new revelation", but I write this today in the hopes that some who are not regular readers here will learn something.

In 2009, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was making it's way through Congress, and even then, the opposition was fierce. Town Hall meetings with members on recess and back home in their districts were bombarded with angry constituents' demands to stop the bill before it got too far. Many Democrat members actually insulted the people they purported to serve. (Google Pete Stark  for one example).

For those who may not have been paying attention back then, Democrats eventually passed the bill unilaterally and unanimously, using bribery (see Corn Husker Kickback) and coercion. That much is clearly known. It was something, like a bad call in a sporting event that stands after replay, that became the law of the land. Fine. But since that day, something clearly unconstitutional has happened: the President, or Chief Executive of America, has altered the law of his own volition and without the consent of Congress, or in the broader context, the people. The ACA is no longer the law passed by "the people". This, the Founders clearly considered when crafting our ruling documents. It is dictatorial, and cannot stand.

For this reason, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should be standing shoulder to shoulder with Senator Ted Cruz in opposing the dictatorial President in this matter. Instead, Harry Reid prefers to think his own constituents stupid, and will blindly offer his rubber stamp for the "new King".

Folks, this great nation was founded by the defeat of one king, and the brave men who accomplished that miraculous feat made clear that we would never again have another. In the 237 years since then, we have been through some rough times, but lately we have become complacent, and have allowed the slow creep of totalitarianism to take hold.

I caution you all, once it hardens, it will be like trying to get dried bird poop off your car's finish. And you can't just go buy a new car to fix it.

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Stand with Sam-I-Am

Might be time for a third party.

Today was a very interesting day, which began yesterday afternoon and concluding today with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid interrupting the conclusion of Senator Ted Cruz's valiant effort to stand for the people who elected him. Cruz, the freshman and junior senator from Texas, was not to be bullied, however.

Since this was not considered a true filibuster, Cruz had an agreement with Dirty Harry that his speech would end at around noon. Cruz is a man of his word. (Remember when that meant something to Americans?) But the Democrats, and some Republicans, grew weary near the end -- although Cruz showed little signs of fatigue -- and Reid interrupted Cruz to begin a normal (HA!) day of business in the chamber, after which Cruz would be granted another hour to speak. Cruz listened to the Majority Leader, and then declared that he would not tolerate having his remaining time curtailed.

Reid then asked asked if Cruz would yield 15 minutes to a senior colleague, John McCain, and Cruz politely declined.

When his time was finally up, and Cruz yielded per his word, Reid took the floor and excoriated Cruz for wasting the nation's time. (How many of you feel this was a waste of time?) Then New York Democrat Chuck Schumer got to speak, but was only too happy to yield his time to John McCain, who proceeded to rip into Ted Cruz.

McCain -- seemingly gleeful -- took his opening shots at Cruz, reminding him that Obama won reelection in 2012. McCain said -- and I paraphrase -- that Obama won reelection and that in democracies, the majority wins. I won't bother delving into the alleged shenanigans of the 2012 general election, but I will remind the "good gentleman from Arizona" that we don't live in a democracy, and that our Founders were particular in protecting future generations from mob rule.

Did they care what we thought in 2010?

I would also challenge McCain on his assertion that majority rules, when the majority of the people never wanted the subject of the entire days events when Democrats rammed through the legislation in 2010. After a summer of Town Halls listening to angry constituents, and without one single Republican vote, the Democrats passed this train wreck of a bill using every trick they could muster.

As Herman Cain affectionately refers to them, Ted Cruz and his band of "whippersnappers" took on this fight -- against the establishment politicians -- because they knew that we were with them. Cruz spent part of the night last night reading Dr. Suess, among other things, to his young daughters. He read Green Eggs and Ham, which is an interesting choice, since Cruz was trying to convince his fellow yet recalcitrant colleagues to try something they did not like.

But after all the machinations of the day, what no one addressed, particularly the media, is the fact that the law the opposition -- both Democrat and Republican -- managed to "save" today is not even the same law that Democrats passed in 2010.

Obama has engaged in an unconstitutional rewrite of the legislation passed three years ago. Cruz had every right to try to stop this madness, and creeps like McCain and McConnell should have stood with him, rather than denigrate him publicly.

If the American people ever needed something to convince them that our nation is a sham, and that we don't actually live in the America we all grew up to believe in, today was a classic demonstration of that notion, the actions of the heroic Ted Cruz notwithstanding. I applaud Ted Cruz and all who stood with him, especially Mike Lee. The rest I detest, and hope they all face primaries the next time they come up for reelection.

It's time we either had a third party, or that our people educate themselves and stop voting blindly for the incumbent. Take America back.

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535: Not a Movie

Odds of Beating Senate Democrats?
It Can Be Done. 

So the fate of America comes down to a vote in the U.S. Senate on whether we -- the people -- mean anything at all to the 535 members of Congress or the one at the top, Barack Hussein Obama.

We have been vocal, long before this September when our alleged representatives will decide our fate, when we fought in Town Hall meetings in 2009 in an attempt to stop the monstrosity that is Obamacare before it had a chance to metastasize. And the people we elected in the aftermath have heard us and been faithful to us. We are no longer alone out here, fellow citizens, left to scream at the walls of Congress; we are inside now.

The Democrats have already telegraphed their finishing blow, but is there any defense we can muster? Perhaps, but now is not the time for queasy stomachs and wobbly knees. We are at the threshold of disaster, and we must make a stand now, or forever bow to the terror.

That's right, I said "terror". Hey, if Democrats can call us -- our preferred TEA Party representatives and even we the people -- fringe radicals, I can sling dirt with the best of them. The Democrats are using terrorist tactics in order to inflict pain on their own people. We have a chance to stop them, and time is running out.

Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund all of the government's responsibilities (some of which are dubious, but that is for another debate) except Obamacare, which we hate in growing numbers and have been clear about, even in the mainstream media, who have been unable to ignore it. The Senate Democrats, led by Harry Reid, have vowed to strip the bill of the Obamacare non-funding portion and send it back to the House. Even if they don't do that and miraculously pass the bill, Obama has promised to veto it. We're screwed, right?

Lost Cause RINOS

Not so fast, pilgrim. We do have allies in the Senate too, you know. And there are Conservative Democrats and vulnerable Democrats too, which might offset the RINOS who also work there. All they must do is effectively communicate to the people exactly which party is responsible for the inevitable government shutdown; Democrats. It sounds like childish games, fretting over blame, but it is most assuredly not.

Make no mistake, the weekend political shows will be replete with much demagoguery, and I urge anyone who cares as deeply as I do to tune in. The Democrats will unashamedly try to pin a shutdown on Republicans, just as Harry Reid has already begun to do:

“Republicans are simply postponing for a few days the inevitable choice they must face: pass a clean bill to fund the government, or force a shutdown. I have said it before but it seems to bear repeating: The Senate will not pass any bill that defunds or delays Obamacare.”

I hope Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have already been booked on these shows to counter the bogus charges of Democrats. They must tell the people that Republicans have passed a bill that will not shut down the government, but that Obama and the Democrats feel that the bill we all love to hate is more important to them than keeping the government running. Rep. Steve King of Utah eloquently stated that a rejection of the House bill will be tantamount to a "tantrum" thrown by either Reid or Obama. This is the message that must be hammered home.

This is nothing even remotely resembling a "childish fight". This is all about the future of America and our continued freedoms, and we must -- as the people -- show our unwavering support for the courageous politicians who are finally fighting on our behalf. We asked for this and to abandon it now, when we're so close, would be a tragedy.


UPDATE: The title of this essay has been changed to reflect the number of U.S. government Senators and Representatives. At the time of it's creation, I was so upset that my math was just a bit off!

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Making the Case for Growing a Spine

Time for True Conservatives

To John McCain, Lindsay Graham, and others of your ilk -- the obsequious and fearful Congress critters passing themselves off as conservatives -- I might beseech you all to consider retiring after your current terms expire. Running for reelection will not be a viable option, so long as as the rest of us fix the primary voting scam. It's time for all RINO's to go, we have had enough.

House Speaker John Boehner barely escapes this net I have cast, if only by virtue of the bill he has presented today, one that finally addresses the wishes of the people regarding ObamaCare. (Imagine that, a "Representative" listening to the wishes of constituents)!

To the likes of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah, I can offer a huge round of applause and a hardy "well done" gentlemen! You were elected through the efforts of the TEA Party and you have not abandoned your pledges to abide by them, working tirelessly to pursue an end to the abomination that is ObamaCare. Getting the Speaker of the House and Eric Cantor -- who only last week offered up a farce of a bill -- to come aboard in this fight is positive news indeed.

For those who may be unaware, last week Eric Cantor introduced a bill -- which was rightly shot down through old fashioned ridicule -- to both reject Obamacare and then fund it at the same time. Word on the street is that the ridicule reached your Representative's ears and facilitated this about face. Shutting down this monstrosity of a law before it gains traction is a positive start, but one that may embolden our elected leaders going into 2014. And the crucial element of this development is that Republicans may be getting some backbone.

John McCain and Lindsay Graham, among others in their particular caucus, have recently been publicly fretting over the possibility of a government shutdown, and where the fingers of blame would subsequently point. They must know that the fight of Ted Cruz, et al, is the right thing to do, but they have been baldly considering their careers above the people and our wishes. With 57% of the people currently rejecting ObamaCare, any other explanation of McCain and his cohort's behavior would be disingenuous, at best, and an outright lie on any other day. They don't care about what's right for the country, only about what will keep them in office.

The coalition of Cruz, Paul, Lee and yes, even Marco Rubio, have decided that it is time to take a stand on behalf of the people they represent and let the cards fall where they may. Whatever the Progressives may want to call it, it is nothing more than standing on principle and letting political expediency handle itself. And it is up to us to make our feelings known to support these men.

The conservatives have announced a plan that will fund all of the government -- military, infrastructure, Social Security, the FAA, everything we have come to expect of our country, while defunding ObamaCare. While it stands little chance of passing in the Democratically-controlled Senate, it must be sent up anyway. Then the conservative wing of the GOP must control the message when the Democrats try to accuse them of "shutting down the government".

They must make the Democrats explain to the American people that the government has been shut down because the Democrats refused make a choice between all the aforementioned government services and a law that we all hate anyway; Obamacare.

Then, when the Democrats begin their inevitable campaign of demonizing Republicans for trying to alter a "duly passed law", the Republicans must point out that that dubious law was passed with not a single vote from Republicans in the midst of a summer of fierce Town Hall meetings, when the people were furious over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And if that is not enough to win over the minds and hearts of the American people, the Republicans must then point out that Obama has made 19 different alterations to the law without Congressional oversight -- thereby unconstitutional --, thus nullifying the validity of the law as it now stands.

In other words, ObamaCare is not the same law that the Democrats passed in 2009, on their own and over the objections of the people they pretend to serve. The law today, as is, is invalid. If Democrats want to stage a public fight for all Americans to see on that stage, I say let 'em!

We have made a difference, folks. We have sent our people to Congress, and they have been doing our bidding. Do we tremble now and leave them to twist in the savage winds of the voices of Congressional leaders, or do we stand by them after we sent them into battle on our behalf? What does your conscience tell you to do?

We've got two weeks before the fiscal year ends, and decisions have to be made. Let's support our Conservative representatives and tell them to proceed, full speed ahead.

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