Anne Boleyn was queen for 1000 days then her head rolled off her shoulders thanks to a Frenchman’s sword. We’re seeing the Anne Boleyn of budgets making its way to Capitol Hill now — after 1000 days the President is finally presenting his budget. But like the last one that got rejected 97-0 in the Senate, this one too, it seems, will get rejected by a bipartisan group lamenting big spending.

Along the way, the White House Chief of Staff is getting his facts wrong.

As President Obama prepares to unveil his FY2013 budget Monday, White House chief of staff Jack Lew this morning was asked by CNN to defend the Senate’s refusal to pass a budget in more than 1,000 days.

“You can’t pass a budget in the Senate of the United States without 60 votes and you can’t get 60 votes without bipartisan support,” Lew said. “So unless… unless Republicans are willing to work with Democrats in the Senate, [Majority Leader] Harry Reid is not going to be able to get a budget passed.”

That’s not accurate. Budgets only require 51 Senate votes for passage, as Lew — former director of the Office of Management and Budget — surely must know.

Of all the things this White House should get wrong, budget reconciliation rules, etc. should be the very last thing considering how they passed Obamacare. But there you go.

No budget for a thousand days — it really is not difficult to understand why so many Americans keep their money on the sidelines when their own government can’t tell them a spending plan for the next year.

Anne Boleyn was queen for 1000 days then her head rolled off her shoulders thanks to a Frenchman’s sword. We’re seeing the Anne Boleyn of budgets making its way to Capitol Hill now — after 1000 days the President is finally presenting his budget. But like the last one that got rejected 97-0 in the Senate, this one too, it seems, will get rejected by a bipartisan group lamenting big spending.

Along the way, the White House Chief of Staff is getting his facts wrong.

As President Obama prepares to unveil his FY2013 budget Monday, White House chief of staff Jack Lew this morning was asked by CNN to defend the Senate’s refusal to pass a budget in more than 1,000 days.

“You can’t pass a budget in the Senate of the United States without 60 votes and you can’t get 60 votes without bipartisan support,” Lew said. “So unless… unless Republicans are willing to work with Democrats in the Senate, [Majority Leader] Harry Reid is not going to be able to get a budget passed.”

That’s not accurate. Budgets only require 51 Senate votes for passage, as Lew — former director of the Office of Management and Budget — surely must know.

Of all the things this White House should get wrong, budget reconciliation rules, etc. should be the very last thing considering how they passed Obamacare. But there you go.

No budget for a thousand days — it really is not difficult to understand why so many Americans keep their money on the sidelines when their own government can’t tell them a spending plan for the next year.

Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese and Todd Gaziano, both with my employer The Heritage Foundation, have written an excellent piece in the Washington Post explaining why the installation of Richard Cordray as head of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Richard Griffin, Sharon Block and Terence Flynn to be on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are unconstitutional acts.The president claimed to use the constitutional power of the president to make recess appointments.

As another Heritage colleague, Hans von Spakovsky, explains for Pajamas Media, Congress is not in recess. The Senate actually conducted some very important business during one of the “pro-forma” sessions the White House has called a “gimmick”: On Dec. 23, it passed the payroll tax extension that caused such a political uproar in Washington.

Congress has five options to respond to this power grab by the executive branch of the federal government:

1. Filibuster all nominations and deny unanimous consent to the waiver of any rule with regard to nominations until these four unconstitutional appointments are rescinded
2. Condition passage of all must-pass legislation on the rescission of these unconstitutional appointments
3. Conduct vigorous oversight to demand the production of witnesses and documents supporting the president’s legal theory justifying this unprecedented power grab
4. Make major cuts in funding of the NLRB and the Department of the Treasury where the CFPB was placed by its authorizing statute
5. Pursue legal remedies to get those unconstitutionally appointed officials out of office. 

Read More →

Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese and Todd Gaziano, both with my employer The Heritage Foundation, have written an excellent piece in the Washington Post explaining why the installation of Richard Cordray as head of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Richard Griffin, Sharon Block and Terence Flynn to be on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are unconstitutional acts.The president claimed to use the constitutional power of the president to make recess appointments.

As another Heritage colleague, Hans von Spakovsky, explains for Pajamas Media, Congress is not in recess. The Senate actually conducted some very important business during one of the “pro-forma” sessions the White House has called a “gimmick”: On Dec. 23, it passed the payroll tax extension that caused such a political uproar in Washington.

Congress has five options to respond to this power grab by the executive branch of the federal government:

1. Filibuster all nominations and deny unanimous consent to the waiver of any rule with regard to nominations until these four unconstitutional appointments are rescinded
2. Condition passage of all must-pass legislation on the rescission of these unconstitutional appointments
3. Conduct vigorous oversight to demand the production of witnesses and documents supporting the president’s legal theory justifying this unprecedented power grab
4. Make major cuts in funding of the NLRB and the Department of the Treasury where the CFPB was placed by its authorizing statute
5. Pursue legal remedies to get those unconstitutionally appointed officials out of office. 

Read More →

Yesterday, Roll Call published an article suggesting that Harry Reid has had quite an auspicious year as Majority Leader.  They observe the fact that Reid has won a larger percentage of cloture votes this year than in 2010, even though his caucus has been diminished from 59 senators to 53:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid managed to win more than half of the filibuster-breaking votes on the Senate floor in 2011, besting his success rate from the previous year.

Of the 32 cloture votes pushed by the Nevada Democrat this year, Reid won 19, or 59 percent. He lost 13 cloture votes.

That comes after hitting a success rate of 54 percent in 2010, when he won 28 cloture votes and lost 24. Sixty votes are needed to cut off debate and kill a filibuster, or invoke cloture.

Reid’s majority shrunk from 59 Senators in 2010 to 53 in 2011, increasing the number of Republicans needed to vote with the majority of Democrats in order to reach the 60-vote threshold.

I’ll be the first person to tell you that Senate Republicans have capitulated too much this year; however, that is not the primary reason for Harry Reid’s successful cloture record.  His high degree of success this year is more a symptom of a do-nothing Senate than a successful rate of filibuster-busting on the part of Reid.  In fact, there have been very few actual filibusters this session, and the few that were mounted were successful.

Read More →

Yesterday, Roll Call published an article suggesting that Harry Reid has had quite an auspicious year as Majority Leader.  They observe the fact that Reid has won a larger percentage of cloture votes this year than in 2010, even though his caucus has been diminished from 59 senators to 53:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid managed to win more than half of the filibuster-breaking votes on the Senate floor in 2011, besting his success rate from the previous year.

Of the 32 cloture votes pushed by the Nevada Democrat this year, Reid won 19, or 59 percent. He lost 13 cloture votes.

That comes after hitting a success rate of 54 percent in 2010, when he won 28 cloture votes and lost 24. Sixty votes are needed to cut off debate and kill a filibuster, or invoke cloture.

Reid’s majority shrunk from 59 Senators in 2010 to 53 in 2011, increasing the number of Republicans needed to vote with the majority of Democrats in order to reach the 60-vote threshold.

I’ll be the first person to tell you that Senate Republicans have capitulated too much this year; however, that is not the primary reason for Harry Reid’s successful cloture record.  His high degree of success this year is more a symptom of a do-nothing Senate than a successful rate of filibuster-busting on the part of Reid.  In fact, there have been very few actual filibusters this session, and the few that were mounted were successful.

Read More →

Senate filibusters over nominations often have more to do with policy issues than the qualifications of a nominee.  That’s the case now with the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to be the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  Much has been written about Cordray’s history as a liberal activist, yet the real motivation behind the Republican filibuster is an effort to protect consumers from the CFPB. 

The Senate is scheduled to vote tomorrow on ending debate on the nomination. Republicans are expected to block cloture, effectively killing the nomination.  Senate Republicans say they won’t confirm Cordray, or any other nominee, unless they get three reforms to the CFPB.  Until the Obama Administration sits down with them to work out the details of reform, don’t expect anyone to get confirmed to the post for at least 12 months. 

The senators’ main beef is that the CFPB was established as an independent agency with vast regulatory and no exposure to Congressional oversight.  Conservatives view that as akin to giving a loaded gun to a child and then walking away.  

Read More →

Senate filibusters over nominations often have more to do with policy issues than the qualifications of a nominee.  That’s the case now with the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to be the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  Much has been written about Cordray’s history as a liberal activist, yet the real motivation behind the Republican filibuster is an effort to protect consumers from the CFPB. 

The Senate is scheduled to vote tomorrow on ending debate on the nomination. Republicans are expected to block cloture, effectively killing the nomination.  Senate Republicans say they won’t confirm Cordray, or any other nominee, unless they get three reforms to the CFPB.  Until the Obama Administration sits down with them to work out the details of reform, don’t expect anyone to get confirmed to the post for at least 12 months. 

The senators’ main beef is that the CFPB was established as an independent agency with vast regulatory and no exposure to Congressional oversight.  Conservatives view that as akin to giving a loaded gun to a child and then walking away.  

Read More →

How the Colin Powell, John McCain, Arlene (disre)Specter*, Snowe? (one of Senate “Gang Of Sicks”), and others, model of the Republican Party is wrong-headed.
*yes, he’s gone – thankfully – hopefully others will leave too. (removerinos.com)

This is not going to be a long drawn out Diary as the points are simple and straight-forward. The points are most easily illustrated by addressing current events as they pertain to John McCain and his latest antics. Antics? Yes, McCain’s latest politicking has him “posturing” for Senate re-election and playing Arizonians for Fools, IMNSHO…

Quick reiteration to the Diary Title – How it is that ANY Republican that has ever Served, and more-so actually had hardships Fighting for, this Country in the Military against Fascism, Socialism, Communism, in it’s incarnations, can now even remotely NEGOTIATE with those looking to take us away from the Capitalist Representative Republic of our Founders toward those very systems we fought is unfathomable. The Republicans MUST BE the Party of “NO” and not just the Party of SLOW Liberal Incremental-ism away from our Nations Founding principles. IT IS THAT SIMPLE!!!

Read More →

https://www.saxby.org/Contribute.aspx

Greetings to my friends, family and extended family. Last week on November 4 we as conservatives and Republicans took a huge drubbing in the general and Presidential elections. Democrats now have a huge chance to reshape not only the political landscape but to affect the very way we live our lives. I am not trying to spread fear or to make people paranoid but we need to realize the gravity of the situation.

But the news is not all bad. Saxby Chambliss the Republican senator from Georgia won his senate race thereby ensuring that the Democrats do not have a filibuster proof majority in that house. Unfortunately Chambliss won less that %50 of the vote which means he faces a runoff election on December 2nd against his democratic challenger Jim Martin.

The Obama camp, seeing an opportunity to get closer to the 60 votes they need to override vetoes in the senate, are pouring money and people in to Georgia to help defeat Saxby. And he needs our help, he has to campaign again since the Democrats are going to be working very hard to change people’s minds.

So here is the proposition: we are going to drop a Money Bomb on Georgia! We are not going to give large amounts of money, we are regular people, but there are a lot of us. If each of us donates just $5 but also gets all of our friends on facebook and our email buddies to donate $5 we can truly make a difference. Our power comes not from our wallets but from our connections to friends through a common goal.

So here’s the deal, Money Bomb this Saturday. Mark it on your calendar: on Saturday November 15 donate $5 to the Saxby Chambliss campaign. Your job is twofold, first is obviously to donate $5(more if you can) on Saturday morning using this link: https://www.saxby.org/Contribute.aspx . Second and probably MORE important is to send that link to all of your friends, post it on your facebook, writ about it in your blog and write emails to all of your friends. You have two days to get the word out the key is not how much you donate but how many donators you can recruit.

We can do this, we can make a difference, our way of life literally depends on it. The liberals in the Democratic party have signaled that they are going to do whatever it takes to enact their agenda. Which includes but is not limited too:
-Return of the “fairness doctrine” to silence Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity etc
-The repealing of all abortion laws including parental consent and partial birth laws
-Return of the death tax
-Repealing of all the Bush tax cuts, including the return of the death tax

And that’s just a few. Democrats have also signaled that they will force all Democrats to toe the leftist line, including the Southern Democrats who won by running on conservative platforms. So there will be no dealing, filibusters are literally our only defense against liberal attempts to remake this great Country.

All it takes is $5 and the courage to share your enthusiasm for what you believe with the people around you. It’s not too late to make a difference, pass the word on!