1. America’s Mother-In-Law Puts Down the Gavel

2. So Called Constitutional Option Is A Trick

3. Who’s Pulling the Puppet Strings on Filibuster Reform and Why?

4. From The Mouths Of Babes

5. AFL-CIO Top Boss: Union Movement is Creating Permanent Progressive Structure

6. My Microphone Is Live at 50,000 Watts

1. America’s Mother-In-Law Puts Down the Gavel

Congress convened at noon yesterday. The new congresscritters were sworn in and learning how to suck away more of our liberties to feed the leviathan. The House Republicans are already back pedaling on reducing spending to 2008 levels — I told you that “Pledge to America” was a bunch of hooey.Look for the Senate Democrats to fail in their effort to gut the filibuster, but they’ll try nonetheless. I suspect the adults in the room, i.e. the Democrats who remember having a Republican President and Senate, will outwit and overrule Senator Udall (D-NM) and the howling gang of leftists from MSNBC and the lefty blogosphere.America’s Mother-in-Law surrendered the gavel to John Boehner, ridding us of our four year long national nightmare. Of course, we’ll still have her to kick around as Minority Leader.Also, our sixty-three year long national nightmare that is the Kennedy Dynasty finally concludes. Starting today, my friends, there will be no more Kennedy’s in Congress.Today is a beautiful day.Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. So Called Constitutional Option Is A Trick

The Senate has now commenced debate on a filibuster reform. Be aware that liberals in the Senate are using strong arm tactics to seize power. They are using something called the “Constitutional Option” and you need to understand that this is a rhetorical and procedural trick. There is nothing unconstitutional about the filibuster and the “Constitutional Option” is a means to ignore the explicit rules of the Senate.Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tom Udall (D-NM) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) have started a process today they hope to result in a chipping away at the filibuster rules. The Udall of New Mexico Resolution has been provided to the public today. It has flaws, yet the procedure being used to railroad this resolution through the Senate is an even bigger problem.Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Who’s Pulling the Puppet Strings on Filibuster Reform and Why?

Here’s an important question for you: If an arsonist were trying to burn down your house, do you A) make it easier by just handing him the gasoline, or B) do everything in your power to extinguish the pyromaniac’s flame? If you answered “B,” then you understand the fight that is currently going on in the Senate over the filibuster and why Republicans must ”not cede any ground to the Democrats…“Upset Democrats and their union bosses are trying to change the rules on Senate filibusters and, rather than using their standard terms of “economic and social justice,” they’re using a mom-and-apple-pie claim about “fairness.” They’ve designed their campaign messaging to portray ‘filibuster reform’ as an issue of GOP “abuse” (see Hogan’s take here) versus simple “democracy” in the Senate. However, the real issue of filibuster reform goes much deeper, with much longer-lasting ramifications. Simply put, as the official sock puppets of unions bosses and other statists, the Democrats attempt to remove the filibuster is nothing more than an effort to remove the last fire extinguisher from the building so the Left can burn down the building. And, let there be no mistake, burning it down is their sole goal.Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. From The Mouths Of Babes

In Lyndon Johnson’s time, first-term senators were expected to be “seen and not heard.” They were expected to shut their mouths and learn how and why the Senate operated as an institution. And the prospect that senators who have no idea what they’re doing would take it upon themselves to restructure the nature of the Senate would have been considered ridiculous by the likes of Lyndon Johnson.But now, a group of first-termers –- frustrated that the Senate will not give them every single legislative fragment they desire -– has proposed to abolish all of the Senate rules at the beginning of the 112th Congress on January 5. Like the House, the Senate rules would vanish by a questionable ruling from the Vice President, except for those rules adopted by majority vote.Ironically, the youngsters call their corrupt gambit the “constitutional option” -– after a similarly ill-advised effort by Republicans in 2005 to abolish the Senate rules by fiat in order to facilitate the approval of GOP judicial nominations.To begin with, both efforts are a violation of the Standing Rules of the Senate.Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. AFL-CIO Top Boss: Union Movement is Creating Permanent Progressive Structure

You’ve known for a while now that today’s union bosses are no longer about just “helping the workers.” They are, as we’ve shown you in the past, about transforming America into a semi-socialist state, that includes the taking over of public businesses.Here is an audio clip [via the Blaze] of the top official of the United States’ trade union movement, Leninist AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka, speaking on how he and other “progressives” are creating a permanent structure and how the AFL-CIO is “lock, stock and barrel” in the middle of the progressive infrastructure.Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. My Microphone Is Live at 50,000 Watts

It is not exactly a secret that my goal in life is to sit behind Rush’s golden EIB microphone as a guest host. For the past few years I have volunteered, as in not getting paid a penny, to fill in on local radio in Georgia just to get some experience. In fact, I did a three month stint two years ago, for free, every week day from 6am to 9am and another one last year for a month and a half at the same time of day for the same amount of money.Since I started filling in on the radio, I’ve had two separate offers to do nationally syndicated radio shows. I’ve turned them both down. One does not get to sit behind the golden EIB microphone and also have a different nationally syndicated show.Frankly, I wouldn’t want a nationally syndicated show. As long as Rush Limbaugh exists, there is no way I’d ever be number one no matter how hard I worked. And with Sean Hannity behind him, the chances of being number two in radio are zilch. Then there’s Glenn Beck at number three and that Blue Bottle microphone of his that I covet.Maybe one day I’ll think I’m good enough for a national show of my own, but for now I’d rather guest host for Rush, knowing I was getting a chance to sit in for the best of the best. That would be a real honor.Of course, this does not preclude local radio.So when the largest, most listened to talk radio station in all of the United States asked if I might be interested in a three hour a day, five day a week show of my own — and they’d pay me (!!!!) — I said heck yeah!Starting next Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET, the Erick Erickson Show will launch.Please click here for the rest of the post.