Congress

What will Congress look like?

Drew McKissick — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:36:14 -0400

I know we've all been focusing so much on the polls in the presidential race, and they are tightening...the question is whether they're tightening enough, but we'll see.

But the other thing to keep in mind is how this all effects the future makeup of Congress. With McCain making it a closer race, even if he doesn't win, it's good news for a lot of really close House and Senate races...especially the Senate, given we need to make sure a possible President Obama does NOT have 60 votes and the ability to roll over Republican filibusters...knowing that the filibuster will be about all we have to stop the flood if he wins.

With that in mind, polls that look at the "generic ballot" numbers are instructive, (asking what party will you support for congress...w/out mentioning candidate names). Over the last several months we've seen Republicans at a double-digit deficit in most of them, but that's been changing ever so slowly.

Now comes today's Battleground Poll which has the GOP only down 4 points, (45-41%).

If that's even close to being true, I don't think the Dems make 60 in the Senate...then we'll just need to spend the next two years beating up on Republican Senators to stay strong. Of course, that's a whole 'nuther subject.

Tell Congress "NO" on the bailout!

Drew McKissick — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:25:07 -0400

Last week, conservatives all across America flooded Congress with the demand that they oppose the bailout, and the House complied. But now the Senate has "rescued" the bailout...and the pressure is on the House again.

The Senate let conservatives down yesterday...voting 3 to 1 in favor of what has now ballooned to a 451 page bill. Does anyone seriously believe that, given the rush to do this "now!", and with no hearings at all, that they all know just exactly "what" is in this monstrosity? Doubtful. (check out a copy of what they probably haven't read here).

Conservatives have to get in touch with their House members and let them know we want them to VOTE NO on this bailout.

We have to let them know that we want REAL solutions based on FREE-MARKET PRINCIPLES. That we want REAL REFORM of the policies and agencies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) that caused this problem to begin with.

Let them know that you view any bill that does not have those reforms as a complete waste of tax-payer money...and that you'll hold them accountable at the ballot box in November.

The House email system has been overwhelmed, but you can still get through via fax.

Click here and send your members of Congress a personalized fax message today - before they vote tomorrow.

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Michelle Malkin has a list of the GOP House members (with phone numbers) who voted "no" the first time. Give them a call.

The Root Cause of the Financial Crisis... In Ten Minutes or Less

Gary Gore — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:16:41 -0400

This clip from Youtube is about the most clear, direct, and concise explanation I've seen to date that details exactly what has led to the financial meltdown we've been witnessing over the past several years, leading up to the point we find ourselves in right now, requiring the federal government to step in and infuse $700 Billion of our money into the system to salvage our economy.

What has led to this huge crisis has been the continued going-along that has been done in Congress, incrementally getting away from conservative principals of free-market capitalism.

Until Congress creates a package that addresses the underlying problems and causes that have actually led to this mess we're in and gets our nation back to those pure, conservative ideals of free-market capitalism and lessened government involvment and experimentation within the process that we had in place before we witnessed this avalanche, we need to continue to be in opposition to any further attempts by the federal government to taking over such vast control of our financial sector!

Until Congress decides to show us that they are serious about getting back to our conservative roots financially with any futher package they may propose to us, please go to our 'Demand REAL Solutions!' campaign page and send a fax to Congress telling them to demand accountability, to immediately cease from using our financial sector as a vast liberal social experiment, and to strongly oppose giving away billions of our tax dollars to bailout Wall Street.

House rejects the bailout

Drew McKissick — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:44:47 -0400

The House just rejected the proposed $700-plus billion dollar bailout. Let the recriminations begin. (Chris Matthews is already acting as though Republicans killed it, despite 40% opposition from the Dems).

The American public was hit over the head with the language of "crisis", (an over-used word in our society, if you ask me) and asked (by people on both sides) to accept THIS "fix" because, if we didn't, the market would go to Hell in a handbasket. Well, it didn't pass, and the market is only down 6 1/2 percent. Not a meltdown.

As the old saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat.

I think that we've now got an oppotunity for something much improved. Something that actually abides by some free-market principles AND addresses some of the root causes of the problem, (meaning some SERIOUS reform of Fanny and Freddie - or even better, privatization of them both).

In a way, the majority of the House Republicans (and even the Dems who opposed it) have saved McCain from having to support this dog in the Senate. Now he, and they, can propose their own version of a reform/rescue bill...and let the put the Democrats and Obama in a position of opposing it.

Besides, it's plain that the Democrats don't want anything to pass that McCain is "opposed" to, because they don't want him to be able to go out and campaign against it, (since they know the general public is overwhelmingly opposed to a bailout). Despite all this bi-partisan blather, it's plain that they intended on making it partisan, even in the process of supporting it. Witness Pelosi's speech on the House floor.

Point being, he has the leverage...if he'll use it...to get something much, much better. Or at least put them on the record as opposing a real fix.

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More: Michelle Malkin - Hot Air - The Fix - Outside the Beltway - Right Wing - Powerline

Stop the Bailout!

Drew McKissick — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:02:52 -0400

In light of what's going on up in DC at the moment, we've set up a fax campaign to enable you to send a personalized fax to your members of Congress - or even all of them, if you're so inclined.

Avail yourself...and pass the link along to others.

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Tell Congress to say NO to the $700 billion bailout.

Tell Congress to say NO to using TAXPAYER DOLLARS to bail out the Wall Street banks!

Say NO to having our government incentivize failure!

Say YES to responsibility! DEMAND accountability!

Tell them they can't shake taxpayers like a money tree!

Let them know we've had enough!

Contact your member of Congress TODAY - before they vote on this bill!

Click Here and fill out the form to send a personalized fax to members of Congress right away!

Support the American Energy Act

Drew McKissick — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:33:08 -0400

UPDATE: click here to follow the campaign to support the House Republicans and the "don't go" movement on twitter, (#dontgo).

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know that energy policy has become a big issue lately. And you don't need to look any further than the gas pump to know that it has a huge impact on our economy.

Well, now the Republicans have finally gotten their act together and taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, and are promoting an "all of the above" strategy to solve our energy problems. It's called the American Energy Act, (H.R. 6566).

In short, it really does seek to do "all of the above" when it comes to addressing our energy needs. Meaning, all of the proposed solutions that have been offered - more drilling, more refineries, more nuclear, more wind, more solar, more hydrogen research, more conservation, more tax incentives, etc...

It's one of those "about time" ideas, and it deserves our support.

Unfortunately, Nancy Pelosi and the Dems have decided it's more important to go on vacation right now than deal with this issue. So now's our chance to let them know how we feel. We've set up a petition and a fax campaign on this issue here.

So be sure to show your support for the American Energy Act - and tell Congress to get back to work!

Political Gamesmanship: Great New Ideas for Summer Vacation Fun!

Gary Gore — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:42:41 -0400

By now, we've all heard about the Democratic leadership in the U.S. House taking off for vacation without taking action on our nation's dire energy problems. Most notably, bringing up for vote the ending of the congressional ban on offshore drilling.

But, in the U.S. Senate, it's another story entirely. Over there it's the Democrats that refuse to leave. On the other side of the Capitol, they are engaging in political gamesmanship by refusing to adjourn the Senate for their annual August recess. Their fear is that President Bush will utilize the timeframe to make "recess appointments" while the Senate is away.

Considering how difficult it has been for President Bush to bring his various nominations through the process in this highly politically charged, partisan Congress, the president has been forced to make 165 recess appointments during his presidency through last fall. A recess appointee is allowed to serve until the end of the congressional session, which in this case coincides with the end of the Bush presidency.

From the AP via Yahoo:

Senate Democrats, repeating a tactic they have used all year, staged a lightning-fast pro forma session Tuesday, a procedure that keeps the Senate from officially adjourning and stops President Bush from making "recess appointments" without Senate confirmation.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., took 28 seconds to gavel the Senate in and out of session. It's a process that will be repeated every three working days to keep the Senate from going into recess until lawmakers return in September.

Often it's senators from nearby Virginia or Maryland asked to do pro forma duty. Reed said he was helping out because he was staying at his Washington home with his 19-month-old child while his wife was traveling.

Seems these guys will use every rule in the playbook to keep the business of this nation from being successfully carried out. I think it's slightly more than just "unfortunate", which White House Spokesman Tony Fratto uses to describe the situation.

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said there was no particular nomination they were trying to stop. He said they just wanted to prevent "any mischief from happening."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said there were 250 pending nominations — 151 non-career, 50 judicial, nine career civilian and 40 career military.

"It's really unfortunate that Congress left for yet another recess without dealing with pending nominations, especially for key officials dealing with energy issues, like our nominee for deputy secretary of Energy and three nominees to be commissioners of the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission)."

Indeed, this is more than "unfortunate". This is an outright betrayal of the American people by the very chosen few they have sent to Washington to lead and conduct the business of our government. But, instead these 'leaders' decide to use their time to play vacation games.

Congressional Dems trying trying to avoid sunlight?

Drew McKissick — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:47:07 -0400

There's no excuse for this...unless you really just don't like making it easy for anyone and everyone to have a better idea of what you're up to.

The Majority on the Committee on House Administration is later today proposing new rules which would severely restrict constituent access to their Member of Congress and limit the ability of those Members to adopt new technologies. ...

this Rule shows a clear misunderstanding of the access which the Internet provides to constituents and Members of Congress to have a very real, open, level and honest relationship at a minimal/if any cost to the American taxpayer.

Absolutely. But, apparently, the House Democrats think there's too much sunlight out there.

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More at Next Right

Dems feeling the heat

Drew McKissick — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:19:35 -0400

Democrats Feel Pressure After Bush Veto of Iraq War Bill - Democrats are under new pressure to craft a compromise following President Bush's veto of an Iraq spending bill which includes timelines for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. [Fox News]

Well, they asked for it. The problem their leadership has, or rather those in their party w/any sanity, is the moonbat/nutroot left-wing activists. Nothing but a complete and total withdrawal (read: surrender) will satisfy them...and the last thing that the moderate Democrats (who made the current Democrat majority possible) want is to reinforce the image of their party as being weak on defense.

But here they are. They've passed their bill...made their statement...and seen it vetoed as promised. Now what? The pressure's on them, not Bush, in this case. He should use this opportunity to hold their feet to the fire and accept nothing less than a clean bill, with no timetables and no pork. It's a lose-lose for them. The public sees them as dilly-dallying around on an important issue, (for the sake of more local pork projects?)...and their base sees them as caving in to the man they hate most in the world. Let's hope the White House plays this one right.