Congress

Posted at 11:37am on May 7, 2008 I think that I need to have the Netroots clarify something for me.

Not to interrupt their paeans of joy over the Obama win, of course.

By Moe Lane

I'll wait.

(pause)

All right?

OK, explain something to me. Obama's the inevitable nominee, yes, yes, the GOP is doomed, yadda, yadda, the Democrats are going to take the White House, consolidate Congress, cut and run from Iraq, start war crimes trials against the Bush administration, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Oh, yes, by now we over here on the Right can sing along; you folks haven't been shy about blaring these - and one other - discordant tunes in our weary, weary ears. 2007 might have been a lowered-expectations disaster for your crowd, but with the new wave of Red-to-Blue (or whatever you're calling it) we should be on the brink of the Glorious People's Progressive Future. Why, we're even hearing about how Nancy Pelosi is going to stand up to the administration with the new war supplemental bill (H/t: Hot Air). All in all: this is supposed to be your time.

So why are you letting the Democratic leadership set you up?

Democrats Unveil War Supplemental Plans

House Democratic leaders outlined a war supplemental spending plan to their rank and file Tuesday that will give members a chance to vote separately on Iraq policy riders and various spending add-ons.

The bill, to be brought directly to the floor later this week, would set a Dec. 31, 2009, goal for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. It also would ban permanent U.S. bases in Iraq, limit interrogation techniques to those included in the current Army field manual, bar a status of forces agreement that would obligate the U.S. to defend Iraq without congressional approval, and require Iraq to match U.S. reconstruction funding dollar for dollar. And it would call for U.S. forces to pay the same fuel prices in Iraq as the Iraqis.

The bill will be divided into three sections — for war money, policy riders and domestic spending. That will permit House Democrats to vote for or against each section while still getting the measure through that chamber.

Read on.

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Posted at 3:07pm on May 6, 2008 "The FairTax Cult"

By Jeff Emanuel

That's the title of Chris Farris's outstanding piece on the "FairTax," posted over at my Georgia blogging home, Peach Pundit.

In his post (and please do read the whole thing), Farris addresses the publicize-at-all-costs tactics used by the program's supporters, and lays out the problems that can, and likely will, occur if and when the FairTax proposal leaves the Ivory Tower and becomes a seriously-debated policy prescription.

More below the fold.

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Posted at 8:14am on May 2, 2008 Monica Conyers (MI-14) goes to school... errr... gets schooled

By RightMichigan.com

Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Friday morning fights.  This morning we have a battle for the ages.  Brains versus brawn.  Age versus youth.  Decades of experience versus precocious curiosity.  A contrast in styles for the ages.  A sitting Detroit City Councilwoman and wife of a United States Congressman versus a girl barely in her teens.  

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Posted at 8:42am on Apr. 23, 2008 MI-07 Candidate Mark Schauer and Senate Dems vote NO on vital new relief while Granholm touts tax breaks

By RightMichigan.com

Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.

Talk about mixed signals.  Yesterday while Jennifer Granholm jubilantly touted the promise of several thousand new jobs in the Kalamazoo area made possible by a giant M.E.G.A. tax break and while media outlets across the State highlighted the role reduced taxes played in making the new jobs possible the Democrats were back in Lansing trying to scuttle a tax relief package aimed at aiding thousands of additional businesses across the State.

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Posted at 5:25pm on Apr. 11, 2008 How Do You Spell Defeat?

Ask House Democrats

By absentee

The appearances before Congress by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker this week were marked less by the sober forthrightness of the two men than by Democrat grandstanding. Tuesday’s Senate hearings were best summed up by Sen. Joseph Lieberman: "As I hear the questions and the statements today, it seems to me that there's a kind of 'hear no progress in Iraq, see no progress in Iraq, and most of all, speak of no progress in Iraq.'"

On Wednesday the hearings were before the House Armed Services Committee. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) set the Democrat tone in his opening remarks. "We should not begin this hearing without recalling how we got here," he said. "Iraq was invaded on incorrect information. The turbulent aftermath following the initial military victory was not considered, despite warnings of the aftermath, including two such warnings from me. Now we're in our sixth year of attempting to quell this horrendous aftermath." The remainder of his opening speech was heavy on the horrendous, as he invoked failures and Bin Laden to paint a bleak picture of an impotent America, an intransigent Iraq, a neglected Afghanistan, and a stubborn President.

"Things haven't changed that much in Iraq," was the ever-present message. House Democrats piled on a theme of "No Hope, No Change" in contrast to their leading Democrat candidate, who for his part on Tuesday was keen on pointing out that there is “still violence in Iraq.”

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Posted at 12:00am on Apr. 3, 2008 Legislative Patience Is A Virtue . . . But Few Are Virtuous

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

I forget where it was that I read it, but the standard response to any particular crisis of the moment seems to pattern itself after the following line of thinking:

  1. Something must be done.
  2. This is something.
  3. Therefore, this must be done.

This is the line of thinking that is leading Congress to devise solutions to the housing crisis. If we legislate in haste, we repent in leisure. But don't try telling Representatives and Senators that. Between re-election challenges and the continuing belief that government possesses some kind of grand and unfathomable capability to solve any and all problems afflicting society, legislating in haste appears to be the order of the day.

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Posted at 10:15am on Mar. 28, 2008 Maybe if Kwame uses a booster seat his mom won't lose her spot in Congress (and other fever dreams)

By RightMichigan.com

Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.

I guess you can file this one under "OOPS!"

News broke yesterday that some of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's friends were getting together to form a big fancy legal defense fund.  The taxpayers footed his legal bills the last time the guy was on trial but now that he's facing twelve indictments including eight different felony counts I guess the guy's on his own.

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Posted at 9:32am on Mar. 18, 2008 Congressional races taking shape while Granholm / Cherry tie a steak around State's neck

By RightMichigan.com

Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.

How's that head feeling this morning?  It's rough, isn't it?  Almost makes you regret last night.  Assuming you remember anything that happened last night in the first place.  That much green beer will do that to you.  But don't worry, you found some way to make it home safe in the wee hours of the morning and that's something, now isn't it.

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Posted at 5:34pm on Mar. 12, 2008 Senator Reid, You're No FDR

The Funniest Fireside Chat Ever

By Bluey

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been the Democrats' top dog for only 14 months. But apparently he's letting his powerful perch get to his head.

Senate Democrats issued a press release today boasting that Reid "recorded a podcast today to honor the 75th anniversary of the first of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's groundbreaking and historic fireside chats. Like President Roosevelt's initial radio address, Senator Reid addressed the economic crises that threaten the nation's economy."

It gets better. You see, Reid is actually sitting next to a fire, replicating not only the topics covered by FDR, but the setting as well. There's not much to laugh about in Washington these days, but this is downright funny.

UPDATE: An alert RedState reader notes that Reid makes a flub within the first eight seconds of the video (emphasis added below).

It seems we have all become familiar with Roosevelt’s fireside chats even though there are not many people who are still around who watched the fireside chats...

Now I'm definitely convinced Reid has no idea what he's talking about. Roosevelt's fireside chats were on the radio!

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Posted at 9:56am on Mar. 12, 2008 MI:09 -- Dr. Death sticks a needle in Gary Peters electoral hopes

By RightMichigan.com

Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.

My first instinct was to fire off an email to Congressman Knollenberg's press staff asking if they'd already scheduled a party to celebrate the news.  So I did.  I'll let you know if I ever hear back but I'll admit up front that I don't expect I'll ever receive a reply.

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Posted at 11:35am on Mar. 6, 2008 Tax Reform: Time for a Flat Tax

By Rep. Jeb Bradley

Former Rep. Jeb Bradley is running to retake his seat in Congress, NH-1, against Democrat Carol Shea-Porter, who won narrowly in 2006.

The upcoming elections promise to be particularly important on a number of issues critical to the future of our country including economic and national security, energy independence, and affordable health care.

Perhaps no single issue has the urgency, however, as tax policy. Why? The tax cuts, which I voted for in 2003, will expire in 2010. By returning money to America’s working families and small businesses, and by creating greater opportunities for capital formation and investment, those 2003 tax cuts deserve significant credit for creating over 8 million new jobs after the 2001 recession and producing record tax revenue that cut the budget deficit.

Read on.

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Posted at 8:47am on Mar. 5, 2008 Breaking: CMU Holds Secret Expulsion Meeting, Decides Student's Fate

By RightMichigan.com

Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.

Though an end to the Gary Peters Congress or Campus battle remains elusive it looks this morning as if this particular chapter in the Dennis Lennox saga is drawing to a troubling close.  At least as far as Central Michigan University is concerned.

Below you will find documents obtained by Right Michigan indicating that a top secret, back room closed-door disciplinary hearing was held while students were away on spring break.  Though Lennox was convicted of a variety of offenses he was not given the chance to present a defense or to even answer the charges against him.  Heck, he didn't even know the hearing had taken place, where it was or who attended.

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Posted at 1:30am on Feb. 28, 2008 Republican Earmarxists Try to Smear Pork Opponent

Desperate, pork-loving Republicans turn on one of their own

By Bluey

Rep. John Campbell is under attack from members of his own party for his tough stance on earmarks. Republican earmarxists, angered by Campbell's criticism of pork-barrel spending, are accusing the California Republican of hypocrisy for introducing a bill they claim is an earmark. Campbell has since pulled the legislation.

There is some dispute as to whether Campbell's bill amounted to the definition of an "earmark" because it was a stand-alone bill, which followed the normal legislative process. But because it would have authorized the expenditure of $2.5 million for a desalination project in his district, it was close enough to prompt Campbell to withdraw it from consideration.

Campbell's decision to pull the bill came on the same day, Feb. 12, he visited the Heritage Foundation, where he attacked Republican earmarks and criticized Republicans for not going far enough in their pursuit of reform. The smear campaign against Campbell dates back to at least to that day. I know because I received an e-mail tip from a Republican Hill staffer who prodded me to question Campbell about the desalination project; I didn't take the bait.

Feeling unsatisfied two weeks later, someone in the GOP ranks leaked the information to The Hill, which reported the story Wednesday night.

This isn't the first time an earmark reformer has faced these kinds of attacks. Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) came under fire from Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) in 2003 for defense-related earmarks; the episode served as a "turning point" in Flake's quest to end wasteful government spending, according to his spokesman.

Campbell seems to have learned a lesson as well. He told The Hill he wouldn't let earmarxists distract him from reform. Of the desalination project, he said, "Even if it's totally right I shouldn't do it before the process is reformed. ... No bill is more important than [earmark reform]."

Campbell did the right thing when he pulled the bill. Yet even though he made the correct decision, Republican earmarxists couldn't resist the opportunity to attack. I'd expect this shallowness from Democrats, but for Republicans to turn on one of their own confirms that pork-loving lawmakers are getting pretty desperate.

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Posted at 9:11am on Feb. 26, 2008 Dem Hokey Pokey: You take one candidate out, put one henchman in (jail)

By RightMichigan.com

Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.

And then there was one.  You think she wishes she'd never given up that fancy-pants $80,000 a year taxpayer funded gig prepping Daniel Granholm Mulhern for his all-but-dead radio career?  I know HE wishes she'd never left.  Maybe he wouldn't have flopped that badly if she'd stuck around a little while longer.

Former lefty radio starlet, chief of staff of the money pit that is the Office of the First Gentleman and all-around liberal dream gal Nancy Skinner announced yesterday that she is pulling the plug on her second bid for Congress, clearing the way for yoooooooouuuuuuuur (former) Lottery Commissioner, Gary Peters.  Although, in fairness, that particular gig is well in Peters' past.  He's been moonlighting as a full-time professor up at Central Michigan University hundreds of miles away from his district these past many months.  

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Posted at 2:46pm on Feb. 14, 2008 Democrats refuse to pass FISA; House GOP walks out

By Jeff Emanuel

Just moments ago, Republican Representatives walked off of the House floor in response to the Democrats' refusal to pass (or even debate) the bipartisan, Senate-passed FISA legislation.

"Meanwhile," according to a source close to the House GOP, "the Democrats are debating the merits of former White House staff."

Video below:



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