John Boehner

Patrick Murphy, Tammy Duckworth, Jim Graves, Wayne Powell, Rob Zerban, Christie Vilsack—Congressional Candidates Challenging Six Targeted Republicans In House Of Representatives!

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The Democratic Party not only hopes to keep Barack Obama in the Presidency, but also to elect a House of Representatives majority in November, and keep control of the US Senate.

Six Republicans are particularly being targeted for defeat in the House of Representatives, and were they all to be “retired”, the nation would be far better off!

So we have Patrick Murphy of Florida, challenging Allen West, who has called the Democrats Communists and Socialists and attacked Debbie Wasserman Schultz as not worthy of being treated as a lady!

So we have Joe Walsh of Illinois, challenged by Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both legs and one arm, and yet, Walsh thinks she does not deserve respect for her heroism; and he is also a bad parent, as he owes back child support payments over $125,000 to his former wife; and also constantly insults constituents at his public gatherings.

So we have Jim Graves challenging Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who ran for President in 2012, and has been a total terror as a Tea Party activist, calling Democrats “UnAmerican” in their loyalty, and is constantly coming across as nutty and loony in all her public utterances in the past six years in Congress. She is now seen as in serious trouble, and Graves seems to have a good chance to defeat her and remove her from public life!

So we have Wayne Powell challenging House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in his Virginia district, and the opportunity to retire Cantor, who has worked to undermine Speaker John Boehner and has cooperated with the Tea Party Movement, and shown he has no principles other than his own ambitions, makes him an excellent target! His arrogance is a good reason to remove him from Congress,and end his chances of moving higher in House leadership!

So we have Rob Zerban, challenging Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, and head of the House Budget Committee, in his Wisconsin district. The chance to defeat Ryan twice is just too good to pass up!

And we have Christie Vilsack, wife of the former Iowa Governor Tom VIlsack, who is now Secretary of Agriculture under President Obama, who is challenging long time Congressman Steve King, who has been one of the wackiest, craziest members of the Republican Congressional majority, serving for ten years in the House, and being one of the leaders of the Tea Party Movement over the past few years.

It would be a great day for sanity and reason if all, or some of these leading Republicans in the House of Representatives were kicked out of Congress! Giving campaign contributions to Murphy, Duckworth, Graves, Powell, Zerban, and Vilsack would be an excellent investment!

Five Major Targets Of Democrats In House Races: Allen West, Joe Walsh, Michele Bachmann, Steve King, And Paul Ryan!

Ronald 1 Comment

The battle for control of the next House of Representatives is in full swing, with the Democrats needing to win at least 25 seats to gain control, and therefore remove Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor from their positions of power.

Among the Republicans who are on the hit list of most important to remove, are:

Allen West of Florida
Joe Walsh of Illinois
Michele Bachmann of Minnesota
Steve King of Iowa
Paul Ryan of Wisconsin

These five, all Tea Party supporters, and extremist in their views and voting patterns, are facing strong opposition, and it would be a contribution if some, or all, were removed from the halls of Congress!

They have all “distinguished” themselves in their outrageous statements and actions, and have embarrassed themselves and the institution of Congress by their behavior!

And of course, Paul Ryan is trying to become Vice President under Mitt Romney, and it would be great if he could be defeated for both that office and his Congressional seat, since he has done nothing for his district in Wisconsin, and instead gained infamy and financial support from billionaires and millionaires for his plan to gut Medicare and Medicaid, while promoting more tax cuts for the wealthy!

This election year would be a great opportunity to clean up some of the damage done by the election of new House members West and Walsh, and rid the House of longer term members Bachmann, King, and Ryan!

The Reckless, Irresponsible Republican House Of Representatives In The 112th Congress!

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Here we are, seven weeks before the elections for Congress and the White House, and the Republican House majority under Speaker John Boehner, after five weeks summer vacation, and only two weeks fall session, will adjourn until after the elections.

In doing so, they will ignore the following issues, among others, resulting in the most disastrous, least accomplished Congress in more than a half century.

Tax cuts for working families
Jobs legislation
Renewal of the Violence Against Women Act
Appropriations bills
Energy legislation
Avoidance of “going over the cliff” on budget cuts at the end of December
Aid to veterans to find work
Farm legislation to assist those affected by the massive drought
Legislation on cybersecurity
Work on the Alternative Minimum Tax and Estate Taxes

By refusing to deal with these issues in a timely manner, the Republican House throws them into a tight, limited time period after the elections, with no clear answer as to who will be in control of both houses of Congress and the White House until after November 6.

The answer is that the voters should kick out the GOP House majority, punishing them for their lack of action, and their reckless, irresponsible behavior, allowing the Tea Party element to dominate them, and putting the nation into distress on a constant basis for the past two years!

Fox News Channel Poll Shows Obama Ahead Of Romney By Five Points!

Ronald 12 Comments

Imagine this: Fox News Channel, which has been attacking Barack Obama relentlessly for years, has come out with a poll showing Obama five points ahead of Mitt Romney, 48-43!

How is Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly going to explain this?

How is Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and Michael Savage and Mark Levin and Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham and Michael Reagan and Lou Dobbs and Michelle Malkin going to explain this?

How is the Tea Party Movement and the evangelical Christian Right going to explain this?

How is John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor going to explain this?

How is Human Events, the Weekly Standard, The National Review, the American Conservative and NewsMax going to explain this?

How is George Will, Bill Kristol, Tony Perkins and Grover Norquist going to explain this?

The answer is that they cannot answer this—and that when one realizes that this five point lead is BEFORE the gaffe of Mitt Romney about Libya is computed, it can only mean a wider lead for Obama in the next poll!

In other words, while no one wants to say it, face the facts!

THE ELECTION IS OVER, AND BARACK OBAMA IS THE WINNER OF A SECOND TERM!

But that does not mean one should not vote, as until the vote is counted, nothing is one hundred percent, BUT it is safe to say that the election is indeed over!

Republican Congressional Leaders Back Away From Mitt Romney

Ronald 3 Comments

The reaction of Republican Congressional leaders, including John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, and John McCain is far less incendiary than Mitt Romney’s rhetoric on the Libyan tragedy, the death of the American Ambassador to that nation, in the midst of a planned attack by a minority of violent instigators.

Even Paul Ryan, the Vice Presidential running mate, has been cooler in his reaction to the events in the Middle East.

One can tell by their body language and their actual utterances that they are uncomfortable with Romney’s perceived overreaction to the tragedy.

And Ryan is now spending money to insure that he wins his Congressional seat in the First District of Wisconsin, as an insurance policy that he can keep his job in the House of Representatives, if he and Romney fail to win the election.

All the signs are there that Mitt Romney, by every utterance he makes, or his refusal at other times to give details or information, and instead to remain purposely vague, is quickly lengthening the odds against him becoming President.

No one in their right mind should put betting money on him taking the oath of office as the 45th President on January 20, 2013. At best, he will probably be relaxing at one of his many homes on that day, while Barack Obama takes on the burden of a second term that day at 12 Noon!

The Rise Of Paul Ryan: Threat To Republican House Leadership If He Loses Vice Presidency!

Ronald 2 Comments

A side effect of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan’s Vice Presidential candidacy if he and Mitt Romney lose the election to Barack Obama, but the Republican Party keeps control of the House of Representatives, is a challenge to the House leadership as it now stands!

That would likely lead to a move by Ryan, who can run for his Congressional seat while on the ballot for Vice President, to wish to be Speaker of the House, second in line to be President, and to challenge Barack Obama on his agenda much more than Speaker John Boehner!

It would also be a challenge to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who very much wishes to be Speaker, and would try to stop Ryan from reaching that office, but having run for Vice President and become a national figure as a result, Ryan would have the edge to overcome both Boehner and Cantor!

So the future of House leadership, if the GOP keeps control, will be very fascinating to watch!

Congress Leaves Business Undone While Campaigning For Reelection: A Disgrace!

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Congress has left DC for a month, in the midst of much business undone, including budgetary bills, unfulfilled judicial and executive appointments, and time spent preventing any action on the economy.

This “experiment” of a GOP House and a Democratic Senate, the first time ever with such a split, has been a total disaster, and the American people need to realize that putting the Republican Party in charge of the budget in the House of Representatives has been a calamity no one could have forseen!

Hopefully, the American people will realize that Barack Obama, celebrating his 51st birthday today, has done his best, and has been stymied by the Republican leadership led by John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and the Tea Party movement element in the House of Representatives, including Michele Bachmann, Allen West, and others who would rather use McCarthyite tactics than deal with real issues and problems faced by the American people!

The Split Personality John McCain: Reasonable On Michele Bachmann, Irrational On Cybersecurity!

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Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee for President, is a very complex man, who can be seen as having displayed courage, principle, and decency at times, but also a very nasty, temperamental, unreasonable, and irrational man at times.

So recently, McCain demonstrated the “good” side, by condemning Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for labeling Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as linked to Islamic terrorism, with no evidence or proof of such activity, and therefore acting like a new Joseph McCarthy. McCain has opened up a bitter debate about the controversial Bachmann, with Speaker of the House John Boehner supporting what he said, while House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has supported Bachmann.

This battle could cause splits at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, a month from now, but McCain is not backing off.

Now, McCain, however, is showing his irrational, unreasonable side by leading the fight against strong legislation to protect computer systems that are responsible for operating the nation’s critical infrastructure!

There are dangers of a crippling cyberattack by terrorists, but McCain is supporting the business community that does not wish to have stronger government regulation to enforce minimum standards on systems that run power plants, air traffic control systems, dams and similar facilities.

Opposition to the Homeland Security Department setting minimum standards of cybersecurity creates a scenario of the possibility of mass casualties or great economic calamity if such a cyberattack were to occur. The US Chambers of Commerce, one of the leading critics of the Obama Administration, is the leader in fighting greater government oversight, and McCain and other Republicans are their willing servants, sad to say!

McCain is acting totally irrational on this matter, and has opened a rift with two Senators usually his best friends, Republican Susan Collins of Maine, and Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, with Lieberman and McCain becoming engaged in an openly angry exchange at a private meeting of senators and staff members. McCain actually shouted at Lieberman, showing again his infamous temper!

It makes one happy that McCain did not win the Presidency in 2008, but even without winning, he unleashed on America the nightmare of Sarah Palin, who will simply not go away!

So we can applaud McCain when he is right, as on Michele Bachmann’s McCarthyism, but we must condemn him for kowtowing to business interests on the cybersecurity matter!

Irionically, if a cyberattack were to occur, who would get blamed, at least originally? Barack Obama and the national government, even though they are trying to bring about a security system that makes sense, but that conservatives and big business interests are determined to prevent!

Eric Cantor: Promoting His Own Wealth Through Loophole In “Insider Trading” Legislation: A True Mark Of Corruption!

Ronald 2 Comments

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is a true disgrace to the chamber he leads, and is a constant threat to the survival of Speaker John Boehner, should Boehner ever attempt in any way to “go off the reservation”!

Cantor, an extremely ambitious and ruthless politician, has been implicated in a scandal, although his party may not think that it is that, by inserting a loophole in the House version of the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act, which is designed to prevent any advantage for members of Congress in stock market transactions because of “insider’ information available to that institution, and was passed in April, with the purpose of restoring faith in the Congress on the part of the American people.

The manipulation by Cantor was not made evident to its Senate sponsors, Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who were shocked to discover that Cantor had inserted an exception for spouses and children of Congressional members.

Now under fire, Cantor claims he is willing to make changes in the legislation, but had slipped in these corrupt exceptions with the clear hope of having no one notice it!

For this obvious transgression, Eric Cantor should face investigation and possible censure, but of course, it will not happen.

Still, John Boehner had better have “eagle eyes”, as there is nothing that Eric Cantor will NOT do to advance his own ambitions, and enrich his own pockets and fortune, at the expense of the American people!

The”Old” John McCain Is Back: A Man Of “Decency” And “Principle”: Fighting Revival Of McCarthyism!

Ronald 2 Comments

Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP Presidential nominee, has waxed hot and cold in recent years, causing mourning among his legions of fans across the political aisle.

But now there are signs of the “old” John McCain, the man who thrilled many back in 2000 when he lost the GOP Presidential nomination to George W. Bush, as he has come out against a revival of “McCarthyism”, a use of political rhetoric to promote fear, anxiety and hate against innocent victims.

Just as the infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin labeled a lot of innocent people as “Communists” six decades ago, now we have a group of Republican House members led by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who have accused an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of being linked to Islamic terrorism.

The victim of this attack is Huma Abedin, who has been a top aide to Clinton for many years, and also happens to be the wife of disgraced former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. She is accused by Bachmann and four others of having relatives, including her deceased father, being linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

McCain, in a Senate speech, denounced Bachmann and the other Republican House members of “guilt by association” and said the accusations have “no logic, no basis, no merit”, and unfairly besmirch a dedicated public servant. The speech reminds many of Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, who denounced Senator McCarthy’s tactics in 1950, a true “profile in courage”!

Bachmann needs to be drummed out of Congress as a menace to normal political discourse, and is certainly on the short list of Republicans targeted to be defeated this November. Her leaving Congress would be a contribution to American unity!

It should also be pointed out that even Speaker of the House John Boehner has criticized the attacks on Abedin as unjustifiable, but that has not stopped Bachmann from now expanding the attack by accusing fellow Minnesota Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison of being leagued with the Muslim Brotherhood himself, as he is the first Muslim member of Congress.

If this reckless behavior continues, a move to censure Bachmann should be considered, just as it was conducted on McCarthy in 1954, leading to his ultimate downfall as a respectable political leader!