Category: House of Representatives

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House of Representatives Politics

John Boehner Wins with 216 Votes – Louie Gohmert got 3… That’s right, 3!

The crazy nutcase from Texas who got 3 votes will not be mentioned in this post. He got 3 votes!

The House has re-elected John Boehner to be speaker in the new Republican-led Congress, despite opposition by tea party lawmakers that underscored party divisions.

The Ohio Republican garnered the votes of 216 GOP lawmakers as Congress convened Tuesday. That was enough for him to win a third two-year term leading the House.

But in an embarrassing slap, 25 Republicans voted for other candidates or voted present. They consider Boehner to be too accommodating and not conservative enough.

Their repudiation of Boehner was an awkward display of GOP schisms at a time when party leaders want to show voters that they can govern effectively. They want to show they won’t be forced by tea party legislators into unwinnable, unpopular showdowns with President Barack Obama.

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House of Representatives Politics

New Poll: More Americans Want Democrats Controlling the House

Just over half the public says that it’s bad for the country that the GOP controls the House of Representatives, according to a new national poll conducted after the end of the partial government shutdown.

And the CNN/ORC International survey also indicates that more than six in 10 Americans say that Speaker of the House John Boehner should be replaced.

The poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, just after the end of the 16-day partial federal government shutdown that was caused in part by a push by House conservatives to try and dismantle the health care law, which is President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement.

According to the survey, 54% say it’s a bad thing that the GOP controls the House, up 11 points from last December, soon after the 2012 elections when the Republicans kept control of the chamber. Only 38% say it’s a good thing the GOP controls the House, a 13-point dive from the end of last year.

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House of Representatives Politics

Unbelievable Video – House Republicans Changed House Rules To Keep Government Shutdown

It is absolutely astonishing! In a recent House session, persistent questioning from a House Democrat forced Republicans to admit that they changed the rules of the House with the sole goal of keeping the government shut!

In the video below, Maryland Democrat Christopher Van Hollen stepped to the House floor and asked about a Standing Rule governing the House – Rule 22, Clause 4. That rule states:

When the stage of disagreement has been reached on a bill or resolution with House or Senate amendments, a motion to dispose of any amendment shall be privileged.

That rule simply meant that any member of the House can offer a motion to dispose an amendment – in this case, the disagreement over the continuing resolution which cause Republicans to shut down the government. Using that House Rule, Mr. Van Hollen than asked that the House take up the Senate legislation on the budget and continuing resolution and “open the government now!”

The Teaparty Representative, Rep. Jason Chaffetz notified Mr. Van Hollen that under “Section 2 of House Rule 368,” only the Speaker of the House or his designee may offer such a motion to dispose.

Jason Chaffetz later admitted that Rule 22 Clause 4 was “the standing Rule of the House,” but that the House will not follow that rule because “the House has altered that operation of that standing rule.”

Further questioning by Mr. Van Hollen confirmed that on October 1st, right around the time the Republicans shut down the government, Rule 368 went into effect.

Rule 368 states;

Any motion pursuant to Clause 4 of Rule 22 relating to the House joint resolution may be offered only by the Majority Leader or his designee.

In other words, on October 1st, exactly when Republicans shut down the government, they also changed the rules in the House with a new rule that would only allow the Republican Leader or his designee the exclusive right to offer any motion, as stated in Clause 4.

 

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fails House of Representatives Politics

John Boehner – A Useless Leader Without Followers

Well that was quick. It was over before it even started. Just a few short moments ago, House Republicans defeated their leader, John Boehner, with a resounding NO to his alleged “Plan B.” The vote was supposed to happen tonight didn’t even make the floor for a vote. Boehner’s office released a statement saying;

“The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass. Now it is up to the President to work with Senator Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff. The House has already passed legislation to stop all of the January 1st tax increases, and replace the sequester with responsible spending cuts that will begin to address our nation’s crippling debt. The Senate must now act.”

In other words, Boehner could not convince members of his own party to support his own bill.

Moments after that statement was released, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s was seen leaving the chambers and surrounded by the media. And for once in his life, Cantor did his best to stay out of camera view.

Media: “Is there going to be a vote tonight?”

Cantor: “Nope.”

Media: “Is there going to be a vote tomorrow?”

Cantor: “Nope.”

Media: “Are you ditching Plan B?”

Cantor: no answer.

Cantor’s office then released this statement:

The House has concluded legislative business for the week. Members are advised that the House will return for legislative business after the Christmas holiday, when needed.

Boehner’s Plan B was his feeble attempt to show the nation that Republicans were trying to do something to avoid going over the so-called “fiscal cliff” come January 1st. Plan B asked those making more than $1 million to pay a little more in taxes. It differed from the President’s proposal which asked earners making more than $400,000 to pay more in taxes.

“Certainly a fiasco for the Speaker,” said Steve Benen, in an appearance on MSNBC’s The Ed Show. “We’re reminded right now that he is a leader without followers and a leader without followers is pretty much useless.” Steve went on to point out that Boehner has about two weeks left until his reelection as House Speaker, and he concluded that Boehner’s “future as Speaker is very much in doubt.”

Eric Cantor can’t wait!

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child support House of Representatives Illinois Politics

The Deadbeat Joe Walsh Bill Is Introduced In The House

Why this have to be a rule or law is beyond me. There are many professions where background checks are conducted on potential candidates, and if an applicant is found owing child support, he or she is automatically disqualified.

Well, as of now, Congress is different.

We all remember Republican Representative and Teaparty favorite, Joe Walsh. At the time when he won his House Seat representing the 8th congressional district in Illinois, Walsh was a deadbeat to the tune of over $117, 000. He hadn’t paid child support in over 9 years!

If left up to Democratic Rep. Jack Franks, Deadbeats like Walsh wouldn’t be able to clean shoes in Washington.

A bill clearly inspired by U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh’s child support issues would forbid people owing more than $10,000 in back child support from running for office in Illinois. House Bill 3932, filed Tuesday by state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, would require statements of candidacy to include a statement that the person running for office is not delinquent by $10,000 or more.

Walsh, a tea party Republican freshman representing the 8th Congressional District, is facing allegations in court by his ex-wife that he owes her more than $100,000 in back child support. Walsh has not been found delinquent or in contempt of court in the ongoing dispute.

The bill would have no effect on Walsh, but it is a step in the right direction. If regular jobs disqualify a deadbeat, why should that deadbeat be able to get a job making laws in the United States government?

Then again, the House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans. Don’t expect this bill to see the light of day.

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Anthony Weiner Democratic House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Politics Republican United States

David Vitter Has A Job, But Anthony Weiner Decides To Retire

We called it here first. Moments after Anthony Weiner went infront of the podium and proclaimed that he was responsible for the tweet that started the so-called Weinergate – where his apparent sin was texting, then lying to the almighty press, claiming he didn’t have any idea who sent the personal text messages to different women –  we predicted that the next time Weiner gives a press conference, it will be to state his resignation.

Meanwhile, Republican David Vitter, the man who paid for sex from prostitutes while still a member of congress, still has a job as a member of congress.

Although we hoped to be wrong on that prediction, reports out today suggests we were right. Anthony Weiner is getting ready to announce his retirement from the House of Representatives. Chalk this one up as a win for the Republicans.

There was only so much Mr. Weiner could take. Pressure to retire was coming from both sides of the political divide, and his Democratic “friends” and leaders in congress all but turned their backs on their out-spoken Democratic congress member. From Leader Pelosi, who announced her intention to investigate Weinergate, to a Republican freshmen who called Weiner a “distraction,” to political talking heads like Ed Shultz, who seemed to be on a personal mission to get Mr. Weiner to resign.

But when President Obama earlier this week joined the chorus and suggested that “if it were me, I would resign,” Mr. Weiner saw the writing on the wall and realized that his fate was sealed.

We said it before and we’ll say it again. Losing Anthony Weiner is a major blow to the Democratic voice in Congress. He was an out-spoken member, and stood his grounds for the people of his district and for America’s middle class in general. Yes, chalk this one up for the Republicans, their job to eliminate the middle class without objection just got a little easier with Weiner out of the picture.

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Democratic House of Representatives Medicare New York Paul Ryan Politics Republican United States

A Republican Shellacking Like No Other In N.Y-26

Remember this Republican dude? You know… the one who was caught emailing half-naked pictures of himself to women on Craigslist? Yeah, him. He immediately resigned his position in congress after the story broke because he didn’t want to bring embarrassment to his wife and kids.

Yeah, that’s the dude. He represented a district in New York that many consider to be the most conservative district nationwide. This district, called New York 26, made history yesterday. In a special election to replace the shirtless Republican dude with the red phone, a Democrat won! I’ll say that again… a democrat won in a district that should have went Republican even if no Republican names were on the ballot.

This is huge news… HUGE! (the way The Donald would say it)! And the thanks for this Democratic victory goes to another Republican named, Paul Ryan.

This Republican Paul Ryan dude is very wicked… wicked and sinister! How wicked is he? This dude is so wicked, that he created a budget infamously called, The Paul Ryan Budget. In this budget, which was agreed to by just about every Republican in the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan advocates for the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class, to the richest 2% of Americans. If his budget is ever enacted, over $3 trillion dollars would be taken from the middle class and given to the rich over a period of 10 years.

But that’s not all the Ryan Budget does, no not by a long shot! Hear this… The Ryan Budget also wants seniors to give up Medicare as they know it today, and in its place, take a $6,000 voucher instead. These seniors are then expected to use this voucher and shop for health insurance on the private market. The question seniors are asking these Republicans is to name one private insurance company who will insure seniors with a $6,000 voucher, considering the many ailments affecting this segment of society, and considering the for-profit nature of private insurance. So far, no Republicans – including the clean-cut but sinister Paul Ryan himself – have answered their concerns.

This brings us back to NY-26.

The Democrat in the special election Kathy Hochul,  disagreed with The Paul Ryan Budget and promised her district that if she won, she will fight the Ryan Budget with all her might. The Republican candidate on the other hand – Jane Corwin, fell in lockstep with the Ryan Budget and agreed with its drastic measures wholeheartedly, and even had the big-wigs from Washington campaign on her behalf. John Boehner, an ardent supporter of The Ryan Budget, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives and the third in line to be President of The United States if anything happens to the President or Vice-President, went to NY-26 and told the Republican conservative district to vote for his candidate.

But last night, Democrats, Republicans and Independents in NY-26 went to the polls and elected the first Democrat in over 50 years.

Democrats are calling this victory a referendum on Republicans and their quest for ultimate control over the lives of free thinking Americans. Republicans on the other hand will try to come up with all sorts of excuses to explain why they lost NY-26. One reason already being pushed is the claim that votes cast for the third candidate, a Teaparty favorite, would have given the Republican candidate the win, had the Teaparty candidate not entered the race.

Sure. This was a shellacking! No two ways about it. The American people have spoken. The Republican quest to control every aspect of our lives and turn that control over to the Corporate élite has been put on notice.

If NY-26 is any indication, expect nothing less than a Republican whipping in the 2012 elections.

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Barack Obama Domestic Policies House of Representatives Medicare Paul Ryan Republican United States Wisconsin

Call Paul Ryan And Ask Him, “What Were You Thinking!?”

Paul Ryan, the unfortunate scapegoat for the congressional Republicans, is getting it from all sides. Even some of his fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted for his budget, are now turning their backs on Ryan’s plan. But why would they do that? He’s such a nice looking young man!

Well, at least that’s what the voice on the commercial below says, “Paul Ryan looks like a nice young man.” The voice then continues on, talking about some of the facts of The Ryan Plan, like ending medicare and giving even more money to the rich. And at the end of the ad, the elderly sounding voice advise all to call the congressman and ask him, “What were you thinking?”

 

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House of Representatives Politics Republican

Republicans Say Boehner Created 216,000 Jobs In March

The recent employment figures show 216,000 jobs were created in March, allowing the unemployment rate to fall from 8.9% to 8.8%. And according to David Dreier, Republican Chairman of the House Rules Committee, John Boehner is the one responsible for these newly created jobs.

Contain your laughter!!!

Mr. David Dreier praised John Boehner, saying;

Speaker Boehner has consistently been saying not only, “where are the jobs,” and we’re all gratified that the positive signs of getting our fiscal house in order played a big role in creating 216,000 non-farm, payroll jobs last month and brought the unemployment rate from 8.9 down to 8.8%.

So what exactly is Mr. Dreier talking about when he says “getting our fiscal house in order?” Well, to answer that question, we have to look at what House Republicans have concentrated on in the last 2 months since they took control of the House of Representatives.

  1. House Republicans have voted to repeal President Obama’s health care law. According to a report by David M. Cutler, repealing healthcare would “slow job growth by 250,000 to 400,000 annually.” The report also show an increase in medical spending by $125 billion by the end of this decade, and another $2,000 increase in yearly insurance premiums for families.
  2. Republicans in the House have also voted to defund NPR. Exactly how many jobs will this create? Zero. But it will take away $22 million dollars from the organization. Sigh!
  3. Repealing Planned Parenthood…. Jobs created? Another big ZERO, as per The Huffington Post
  4. House Republicans are intent on cutting $61 billion from the budget. This must be where the 216,000 jobs came from! Well, let’s take a look. The Senate hasn’t agreed on this $61 billion cut, so in essence, this budget cut, called H.R 1 is not law. Jobs created? Zero. In fact, many economists agreed, that if the Republican’s budget cuts detailed in H.R. 1 go into effect, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost.

And so the confusion continues. If the bills that House Republicans have voted on haven’t created any jobs, then how exactly is Mr. Dreier crediting John Boehner with creating 216,000 of them last month?

Well, Dreier knows he is lying. But its something Republicans have been doing for some time now. It’s called the power of persuasion – you say something often enough, eventually, although it may be a lie, it will be accepted as truth by many.

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House of Representatives Politics Republican

N.P.R. In Republican’s Crosshairs

In a move that is nothing short of attempting to silence any and all political opposition from wherever it may come, the Republican led House of Representatives passed a bill that will cut funding to NPR – National Public Radio. The vote was held along party lines, with only seven Republicans voting with Democrats to continue funding. It passed, with a vote of 228 – 192.

If the bill becomes law, it would mean that other stations could not buy programming from NPR or any other source using the $22 million they get from the federal government.

Democrats saw the move by Republicans as strictly a political move, and the Republicans way of appeasing the Teaparty. “Why are we wasting valuable floor time on an ideological battle?” said Representative Louise Slaughter of New York.

The bill is not expected to reach the Senate, but if it does, it is not expected to pass. Democrats have a slight 51-47 majority vote in the Senate.

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Abortion Featured House of Representatives South Dakota

Republicans Trying to Legalize Killing Abortion Doctors

If the Republicans in South Dakota gets their way, killing an abortion doctor will be legal. No, that wasn’t a misprint. A bill being pushed by House Republicans in South Dakota’s congress will redefine the term “justifiable homicide” to include killing anyone who brings harm to a fetus. The bill, HB 1170 has already passed the committee with a vote of 9 – 3, and will be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives for a final vote.

According to reports by Mother Jones;

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Phil Jensen, a committed foe of abortion rights, alters the state’s legal definition of justifiable homicide by adding language stating that a homicide is permissible if committed by a person “while resisting an attempt to harm” that person’s unborn child or the unborn child of that person’s spouse, partner, parent, or child. If the bill passes, it could in theory allow a woman’s father, mother, son, daughter, or husband to kill anyone who tried to provide that woman an abortion—even if she wanted one.

Protecting the unborn fetus can be considered an admirable trait, but what happens after the baby is born and grows up to become… I don’t know, maybe… an abortion doctor? At what point is it really okay to protect the unborn but kill the living?

More on this story from Mother Jones here

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democrats House of Representatives Politics Pre-existing condition Repeal Republican United States

What Will A Health Care Repeal Mean For You

Senator Harry Reid Democrat  from Nevada

Republicans in the House of Representatives succeeded today in getting enough votes to repeal the Health Care Act, signed into Law by President Obama in March 2010. They are trying to persuade the Senate – which is still controlled by Democrats and led by Harry Reid of Nevada – to continue the repeal process. Senator Reid has signaled no desire to bring the Health Care repeal to a vote in the Senate, thus, the bill is dead on arrival.

But congressional Republicans are not giving up. They have assured their conservative base and the Teaparty that they will do all they can to take away their health care. So the next step for these Congressional Republicans will be to defund the bill to the point that it cannot be properly implemented.

What does this mean for the average American?

Well, the parts of the bill that have  already been implemented, will get rolled back if  funding is no longer there. Some of these benefits that Americans will lose include:

  • Children with pre-existing health conditions will once again be dropped from their parent’s coverage
  • Young adults under the age of 26 will no longer be able to stay on their parent’s policy
  • Seniors will once again have to split the cost of prescription drugs in half, because the additional funds provided by the Health Care reform will no longer be available
  • Insurance companies will use less of the money they collect in premiums for your health care needs. More of your premium will be used for overhead expenses and CEO bonuses
  • You will no longer have the additional  options given under the Health Care reform bill to appeal health insurance decisions regarding your coverage
  • You will have to pay for preventative care.

These are just some of the measures from Obama’s Health Care reform that have already been in effect, and will be lost if the Republicans get their way.

Oh, and let’s not forget the tremendous  financial implications. See the video below for more…

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