Slaughter House Rules
March 11, 2010
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is making her list and checking it twice. Yet even after the President’s 52nd speech on the subject, House Democrats can’t seem to twist enough arms to hit the magic number (216) for passing the Senate health care bill. After playing every card up their sleeve, the leadership says that desperate times call for desperate measures–like passing the bill without voting on it. Come again? As we picked up earlier this week on Capitol Hill, Congress Daily is reporting the House brain trust is mulling over a crazy scheme by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) to rewrite the chamber’s rules so that no vote would be necessary to advance the Senate bill.
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) talked about this latest twist on his blog. “The Slaughter Solution is a plan by… Democratic Chair of the powerful House Rules Committee… to get the health care legislation through the House without an actual vote on the Senate-passed health care bill… Under Slaughter’s scheme, Democratic leaders will overcome the [lack of votes] by simply ‘deeming’ the Senate bill passed in the House–without an actual vote by members…”
The obvious question is: how could this be constitutional? The answer? It isn’t! This afternoon, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the President must sign the monstrous Senate-passed health care overhaul bill–which includes over a dozen bribes to Democratic Senators and a massive expansion of government-funded abortion–before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package. Clearly, the liberal leadership is planning to launch even more attacks on the Constitution–all but guaranteeing that the biggest “slaughter” will be in the voting booth this November.
Say What? Program will pay homeowners to sell at a loss
March 11, 2010
This is outrageous. Now we have a government program to pay homeowners to sell at a loss? First they take over an auto company and now they are invading the real estate industry! Crimminal! Time to let the adults run the government again! – FedUpEditor
New York Times -
In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: Paying some of them to leave.
To read the full story, please click here.
Downsizer Needs Help! Huge CFPA on the Way!
March 9, 2010
Congress wants to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) that will regulate everything from credit cards to mortgages.
House Democrats want the CFPA to be an independent agency, but Republicans are opposed. As a result, Senators Chris Dodd and Bob Corker are thinking of making it an arm of . . . the Federal Reserve!
Both Democrats AND Republicans are missing the point. Only Congress – not unelected bureaucrats – should have power to write and pass laws. Please tell Congress to oppose the creation of the CFPA and tell them to introduce the Write the Laws Act (WTLA) instead.
You may borrow from or copy this letter . . .
I’m upset that Congress is considering the creation of a new regulatory agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). The CFPA would do more harm than good . . .
* it will regulate financial institutions to supposedly protect consumers
* whereas other federal regulators are charged with protecting the health and solvency of these same institutions
* these differing objectives will lead to conflicting regulations
* that will cause harm to both consumers and the industry itselfAnd the CFPA is unnecessary . . .
* existing agencies already have consumer protection powers
* members of Congress claim these agencies haven’t regulated adequately or wisely, HOWEVER
* there’s no evidence that yet another new regulatory body will do any betterYou, the members of Congress, have ultimate responsibility for policy. You can restrain the bureaucrats, and you can give them specific instructions. New bureaucracies are not needed; instead, Congress must assume its Constitutional responsibility for ALL regulations.
Frankly, I do not believe any new regulations are needed. If you abolished the Fed, granted free competition in currency, and allowed free banking, the market would regulate itself according to the demands of the people. But if you are convinced that federal regulations are needed, the least you can do is follow the Constitution!
* the Constitution reserves legislative power – including regulatory power - in YOU, not in unelected bureaucrats
* write specific legislation, with no details left to the bureaucrats
* Executive Branch agencies should be charged only with enforcing regulations, not with writing themI therefore insist that you oppose the creation of the CFPA. Instead, introduce the Write the Laws Act.
A final note: I am particularly insulted by the proposal to make the CFPA an arm of the Federal Reserve. All 317 House members and 32 Senators who co-sponsored the Audit the Fed bills must be insulted, too. Please do everything in you can to prevent the expansion of the Fed’s powers.
END LETTER
You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.
James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org
Obama Lies Again About Opening Off Shore Drilling!
March 5, 2010
Dear Patriots ~ Be sure to follow the link below for the latest promise broken by President Obama: stalling offshort drilling until 2012. You read that right. Apparently President Obama was too busy campaigning in the summer of 2008 to notice the impact that paying nearly $4.50 a gallon for gas had on the economy and our households.
Our President is also apparently unaware that nearly 75% of Americans are in favor of responsible offshore drilling. (Silly us!) As the link below points out, “According to the Minerals Management Service, there are an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf, collectively representing a clear path toward being able to ignore OPEC and foreign dictators for our energy.
Developing these resources would also create hundreds of thousands of jobs annually and generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for the government.” This is the fundamental problem with having an inexperienced ideologue running the country. The will of the people? What’s best for the country? What’s best for Americans? I know… don’t make you laugh (or weep).
Signed, California Sinking
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This week, Americans twice witnessed the Obama administration flagrantly disregard the will of the people to pursue his anti-job, anti-growth, and anti-freedom agenda.
Jim Judd for Congress – California 6th District
March 5, 2010
Thoughts on Big Government:
Most people don’t realize the extent to which big government negatively affects us as individuals and as a country. Many of the programs created by our legislators seem compassionate on the surface. But when we look deeper, we see that all these well-meaning entitlements have actually hurt the United States and our economy, not just today, but well into the future. As an example of the “Too Big to Fail” mentality, we see “Big Government’s” continued debt doubling down by propping up private businesses, something our government should not be doing.
Here’s my point. In the 80s, American businesses were getting their butts kicked by Japan in all areas of the private sector; most notably manufacturing and specifically in the automobile industry. Japan was the leader in quality improvements, efficiency, and increased productivity. What happened was a change in corporate attitude by U.S. businesses that led to one of our biggest booms in the 90s, where we set the pace in the free market and broke the back of the Soviet Union as well. Remember that one? To accomplish this boom, government stepped back, allowing business the opportunity to succeed in creating an environment based on confidence. Consumers felt confident, as did investors. And who won?…Americans. Jobs where plentiful and, oh boy, we sure could use those jobs today!
Here’s the other side of the coin. Today we are embroiled in three issues that do not speak to the competitive advantage discussed above, but instead continue down the path to becoming more regulated by government. These sectors are energy, health care and education. All three are resistant to the culture of free market competition and have become heavily regulated by “Big Government”. Take a look at the Energy Department with a budget of $24.7 billion. Are we more reliant on foreign oil or less? Are we any closer to innovative alternative fuels without them being taxpayer subsidized? And what about Government Health Care? What will happen when we see one sixth of our economy in the hands of “Big Government,” running it like Amtrak or the USPS? We have the Department of Education with a $63.5 billion budget. How’s that working for us, or should I say, for our children? These questions beg the obvious. “Big Government” needs to get out of the way and let the free market work in new and innovative ways. Not to do so will never allow Americans to feel the confidence we need (remember I said it earlier) to invest in America and in our future. “Big Government” and big entitlement programs will only lead to a nation of dependence and a culture of government elitism.
It would seem that the business of our government is to create more government. In fact, the only sector that has grown during this recession was the Public Sector, i.e., government jobs. And a USA Today report shows that in one year, six-figure government salaries fast became the norm under this current administration. Remember, government jobs put back into the economy only what is left from the taxes it first has taken out of the economy. Government does not create wealth; the Private Sector is where wealth is truly created. Individuals and businesses, big and small, are pulling the cart. Now, while many of us are figuring out ways to cut back and do with less, our government is riding high and giving itself raises like there is no tomorrow.
People are finally starting to realize that the system is broken, and it is time for someone to fix it before it is too late. We have relied on countless numbers of career politicians to solve these problems, and we still are waiting. Instead of listening to their constituents, they seem to think their jobs are about getting re-elected.
Now is the time to put people in office with real life experience, ones who REALLY know how to create jobs. It is time we stood together and put our trust in some new faces. When I am elected, my pledge is to represent YOU. Partisan politics will be a thing of the past. I will consider each bill on its merit and how it will best benefit the people in my district. I promise to work hard, speak up and change the way things get done in Washington. You have my word.
- Jim Judd
www.JimJuddForCongress.com
Rep. Barney Frank is CAGW’s 2009 Porker of the Year
February 26, 2010
Note: This is why we need this guy out of office. Scott Brown was able to do it, perhaps Mass. is coming to its senses and will remove his guy? – FedUpEditor
CAGW President Tom Schatz announced the results of the online poll for 2009 Porker of the Year on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on February 2. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, (D-Mass.) finished first in a field of six with 49 percent of the vote. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) came in second at 26.3 percent, while third-place honors went to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) at 6.6 percent. Chairman Frank garnered the lion’s share of the vote as a result of his relentless and garrulous role in the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), which the federal government took into conservatorship in September, 2008 after they began to collapse and which remain on life support even after an infusion of $112 billion in taxpayer funds. Chairman Frank safeguarded the GSEs’ lavish franchises and fended off any attempts to establish greater oversight even when it became clear that their precarious condition threatened the entire financial system. “The seeds of the GSE meltdown were sown by politicians like Barney Frank,” declared Schatz. Read more about the results of the 2009 Porker of the Year poll.
Weigh in on the White House Health Care Summit!
February 25, 2010
Urge the President and Senate Democrats at the White House Health Care Summit to Renounce Jamming through Obamacare in the Senate with only 51 votes! Take Action!
February 25, 2010
The White House Health Care Summit is underway and we’d like to draw your attention to Citizen Tube-where you can watch the summit LIVE from your computer at work or at home and submit your questions and ideas on health care during the event, and vote on which questions and ideas you think are the best!
The questions and ideas with the most votes at the conclusion of the summit will be asked of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH).
Eagle Forum strongly encourages you to join Senator Lamar Alexandar (R-TN) and his fellow Republicans at the summit and ask both President Obama and his liberal Democrat leaders in the Senate to renounce using the Budget Reconciliation process, which requires only 51 votes, to jam through Obamacare.
We encourage you to participate and to also submit calls and comments both through Citizen Tube and through the White House comment line and via their website. The White House is targeted in this action alert, so all you have to do is “Take Action” as usual and your input will be relayed to the Executive Branch.
White House Comment Line:
202-456-1111
Obama is Stuck On Stupid
February 23, 2010
It’s a shame General Honore didn’t leave the Army and run for office. He had the ability to tell it like it is and screw it if he hurt someone’s feelings. After the Hurricane Katrina devastation during the cleanup, the general berated one of the reporters by telling him he was “stuck on stupid.”
Perhaps someone could relay this message to Obama. After all the Tea Parties and Sick-ins, what does he do? He’s back on health care! He has said repeatedly that he believes he just hasn’t explained it well enough. To the contrary, he has made more than a speech a day, most of them on his health care initiative, and we don’t want it. What’s not clear?
Remember the old saying (paraphrasing), “God gave you two ears and one mouth so you would listen more than you talk.” Perhaps Obama should take that advice. Perhaps he is so busy talking (over 400 speeches in one 365 day year) that he can not hear us.
Listen up, Mr. President. I DO NOT WANT YOUR HEALTH CARE PLAN… NOT NOW, NOT EVER!
Sane people must be asking, why do the Democrats keep coming back to this even when the idea is wildly unpopular? Aren’t they there to do the people’s business? If we don’t want it, then why continue spending money and time on this legislation? Who will it benefit? If you guessed Democrats, you would be right… at least that is what they think. In 2010 they will find out the truth. Special elections have already sounded the death knell of liberalism, yet they keep moving forward! It’s like “Night of the Living Dead” where the zombies just keep coming all over again!
Republicans beware. This meeting with the President is a rope-a-dope. The plan is already outlined and there is no bi-partisan compromise in it. No wonder people are thinking third party… nobody in Washington is listening! Are Republicans afraid of being the “party of no”? As Rush Limbaugh says, they should be the “party of HELL no!”
After almost a solid year of fighting off this health care plan with Sick-Ins and Tea Parties, the bickering in the House and Senate from Democrats who should have the votes to pass anything, the Pelosi,”We don’t have the votes to pass it,” speech, here we are again. Why? Because Obama and the Democrats are “Stuck on Stupid!”
- FedUpEditor
More money for fewer jobs…again
February 17, 2010
In February 2009, President Obama signed into law the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. One year later, the tab for this so-called “stimulus” bill has grown to a staggering $862 billion — and the spending has done very little to actually improve our sinking economy.
The left boasted that their big-government program would “create or save” about five million new jobs by December 2010 and cap unemployment at eight percent. But so far, it’s not living up to these promises. As Heritage’s Conn Carroll explains, four million jobs have been lost since the bill went into force, and unemployment rose above 10 percent, though it now stands at 9.7 percent. The President’s stimulus would require a mighty turnaround to be deemed anything other than a dismal failure.
» Today at 11:00 Eastern, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) is joined by Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Scott Garrett (R-NJ) and Tom Rooney (R-FL) to discuss the “stimulus.” And they’ll be taking questions live from Heritage’s Facebook fans! Become a Fan of The Heritage Foundation on Facebook to participate.
But the left won’t admit to the shortcomings of their stimulus bill. In fact, the White House Council of Economic Advisors audaciously reports that last year’s stimulus bill created two million new jobs. Heritage experts beg to differ. In a new Heritage analysis, economist Karen Campbell dissects the CEA’s report and argues that its findings “fail basic standards of economic analysis” and do little to prove anything about the stimulus.
Nevertheless, the left is forging ahead with its big-spending ways, and wants yet another stimulus, this time dubbed a “jobs bill.” The House of Representatives has already passed a $154 billion stimulus package and the Senate is considering one costing taxpayers $15 billion. Both proposals are highly partisan and, like the 2009 stimulus, will do nothing to stop the recession and curb unemployment.
The $15 billion “jobs bill” the Senate is considering is a far cry from the bipartisan compromise bill the Senate was originally drafting. Even The New York Times editorial board panned this substitute bill, brought forth by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), as “pathetic…as an example of legislation deemed capable of winning bipartisan support.”
Reid’s bill is full of bad liberal ideas and reflects typical political posturing. What we need instead are real reforms. These reforms, as Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) writes in the Wall Street Journal, would “limit government’s burden of spending, mandates and regulation[, ensure] the opportunity for individuals to fulfill their human potential and enjoy the satisfaction of their own achievements—and [secure] the distinctly American legacy of leaving the next generation better off.” (Read Heritage’s take on Ryan’s road map on The Foundry.)
Indy Mac SCAM! How the Bailout Screwed Us All!
February 14, 2010
Two loan specialists explain the back room deals made by our current administration with the bailout. Listen here and learn.
