It’s the Democrats that want to shut down government…
Congress
Rep. Peter Roskam: High Taxes Have Consequences
-By Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam, GOP Chief Deputy Whip
Note: Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman will testify before the Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee today.
Illinois and other states have recently made headlines for their declining populations. Whether they realize it or not, what states like Illinois are learning the hard way is that over-taxing and over-regulating has consequences. And Illinois is now learning that one painful consequence is job loss.
Caterpillar, a Fortune 500 company that employs 23,000 workers in Illinois, currently finds itself dealing with a new tax increase in an already over-taxed state. Their CEO, Doug Oberhelman, sent a warning shot on March 21st with a letter to Illinois’ new Democrat Governor Pat Quinn:
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Rep. Peter Roskam: High Taxes Have Consequences”
VIDEO — Who’s More Responsible: Charlie or Washington?
Who is more fiscally responsible: Charlie Sheen or Washington? Duh! Charlie the Warlock. Washington spends $30 million, the same as Charlie’s salary, in less than five minutes. Now that’s a fastball… At least Charlie knew not to spend more than Two and a Half Men was paying him.
Courtesy of Bankrupting America.
Rep Joe Walsh on a Gov’t Shut Down
Newly minted Republican Congressman Joe Walsh of the 8th Illinois District recently spoke to CBS News about the possibility of a government shut down due to the Democrat’s reticence to come up with their own budget policies.
It should be remembered that the Democrats never DID pass a budget in 2010 and the House of Representatives newly taken over by the GOP is playing catch up.
Roskam on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown: Senate Must Act
From the Office of Representative Peter Roskam (R, 6th District)…
38 Days Later: Senate Has Failed to Act:
“We’re 38 days away from when the House acted an d passed something over to the Senate and we haven’t seen any substantive Senate action in that entire time. So before the House is asked to come back and take another position, the Senate has to act, and we’ve seen absolutely nothing.”
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Roskam on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown: Senate Must Act”
A Nationwide Movement To Eliminate Voter Fraud Is Born
-By Warner Todd Huston
This past weekend the first national True The Vote Summit was conducted by the folks that successfully rooted out vote fraud in Harris County, Texas during the 2010 elections. Folks from 27 different states were in attendance to learn how the Harris County effort was conducted in hopes of replicating the same back home, but with the hard lessons already learned.
On Saturday those in attendance heard from True The Vote’s wizened members and learned what the best practices were to “true” the voting process in their own areas. Along with the True the Vote experts attendees also heard from the Wall Street Journal’s John Fund and election law expert Christian Adams. The day’s activities were wrapped up in a neat, if somewhat eccentric bow as those gathered heard an entertaining address by none other than our own Andrew Breitbart.
This event wasn’t just a rally cry for free and fair elections, though indeed it was that. TTV’s Mark Antill, Alan and Colleen Vera, Nancy Geigel, Vickie Pullen and the indefatigable Catherine Engelbrecht gave detailed information on how folks can set up their own poll watcher programs, told the summit goers how to keep the process free of partisanship, and discussed the ins and outs of the legal system they came up against when implementing their 2010 program. I even got a few minutes to let the folks know how to use the Internet and the New Media to help support their efforts back home.
But make no mistake about it. Despite what the left has said about this effort, their goal is not to inject a partisan agenda into our elections but to make sure that every election nation wide is free of fraud. Time and again TTV’s members told of how they worked hand in hand with Democrat poll watchers to make sure that everything was on the up and up during the elections.
Still this hasn’t stopped the left from whimpering.
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A Nationwide Movement To Eliminate Voter Fraud Is Born”
Peter Roskam, Ill. Delegation Mostly Disappointed With Obama’s Libya Policies
-By Warner Todd Huston
Despite initially intending to skip a public address, President Obama finally came before the nation last night to speak about his plans and ideas for America’s engagement in Libya. Unfortunately there are more questions than answers still and members of the Illinois congressional delegation are less than satisfied with Obama’s Libya policies.
For one, Peter Roskam (R, 6th), Chief Deputy Whip of the GOP led House, is less than happy with Obama’s televised appearance.
Even though it comes nine days after our military became engaged in Libya, I am pleased President Obama took the opportunity to address the country tonight. Unfortunately many questions still remain. Even with a nationally-televised, widely-promoted speech, Americans still don’t have the answer to a basic and essential question: what is the benchmark for success in Libya?
Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R, 11th) went a step farther yesterday and said that, even though he is not advocating sending troops at this time, we should not automatically rule out sending in American ground troops. “What you end up seeing is when you say we’re never going to send in American troops–you take away that ability to use that as a trump card or leverage.”
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Peter Roskam, Ill. Delegation Mostly Disappointed With Obama’s Libya Policies”
Free and Fair Elections True The Vote Style
-By Warner Todd Huston
I am here in sunny Houston, Texas attending the opening night of the True The Vote Summit and what a night it has been. We heard some inspiring speeches for this sold out event, saw some interesting attendees, and met an awful lot of great folks.
It has been thrilling to see several hundred handpicked Tea Partiers and local concerned citizens from 27 states here to learn how they, too, can stop vote fraud in their own districts using the methods learned the hard way in 2010 by the King Street Patriots here in Harris County, Texas.
You might recall back in Sept. of 2010 when the KSPers discovered an ACORN guy that had registered over 23,000 fake voters for the 2010 elections here in Texas. That was only the beginning of their efforts to root out vote fraud in one of the most corrupt Democrat controlled areas in the state.
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Free and Fair Elections True The Vote Style”
Ohio Senator Brown: Card Check is Dead
-By Warner Todd Huston
The Hill newspaper has an interesting quote from Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown. He says the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), of the Card Check bill is a dead issue in the senate this year.
Senator Brown was being interviewed on WVIZ radio in Ohio when he was asked what he thought about the success of the EFCA in the Senate for the 112th Congressional session. “It’s not going to happen now,” the senator said.
If this is true then Big Labor should be extremely upset with President Obama and the Democrat leadership in congress. Will they take out their anger by withholding their enthusiastic support of Democrats in 2012?
One would think that this singular failure of the Democrats to get Big Labor’s most wished for legislation passed would be a deal breaker for labor. After all, labor has spent over $400 million in the last few years on getting Democrats elected and it seems that all that money went for no benefit to them. Labor’s loss of power has grown commensurately with its expenditure on Democrats, anyway.
Like old dogs that cant learn new tricks, though, it is likely that they will double down and try to pump more money than ever into the pockets of pliant Democrats. Like a beaten wife they keep coming back, it seems.
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Ohio Senator Brown: Card Check is Dead”
Obama, As Red as It Gets
-By Alan Caruba
Isn’t it about time that the mainstream media and all others begin to examine the record and conclude that a Communist holds the reins of power in the White House?
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, it is often believed that Communism died with it. Not so, Communism is alive and well in China, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.
From the days of Harry Truman who discovered that Franklin Roosevelt had given the Soviets Eastern Europe at the WWII Yalta Conference, American presidents have steadfastly done what they believed was required to keep Communism “contained.”; some more successfully than others.
The Communist Manifesto is well worth reading. Among its planks is the abolition of private property and a government that owns or controls much of the U.S. landmass is antithetical to this keystone of capitalism.
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Obama, As Red as It Gets”
Government Motors: The Coming General Motors Failure Will Be At Taxpayer’s Expense
-By Warner Todd Huston
The Obama Administration has proclaimed TARP and the subsequent bailout for General Motors a great success. US Treasury Deputy Timothy Massad recently said, “Where we are today shows that the program, by any reasonably objective measure, was a success.” But is GM, now much derided as “Government Motors” the success that Obama says it is? Facts don’t argue in Obama’s favor.
First of all, we must dispense with the whole idea that a benevolent Obama played sugar daddy to “save” GM and did so without too much meddling with the company. Despite the claims that it is “back” and back in private hands, We The People still own 33% of GM. But government ownership is deeper than the a mere calculated percentage. You see, GM’s Board and its CEO were all placed in their positions by Obama, his czars and advisers. Worse, none of them have any experience at all in the auto industry.
Obama’s GM CEO, Dan Akerson, is not a “car guy” — as he himself admitted. Akerson’s experience is as a Wall Street hedge fund operator not an auto industry exec. He was also a player at the politically connected Carlyle Group and was the firm’s Managing Director.
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Government Motors: The Coming General Motors Failure Will Be At Taxpayer’s Expense”
Let’s Have Some Patience on the Budget Cuts
-By Warner Todd Huston
For decades I have been sick and tired unto death of the massive overspending, arrogance, and outright graft of Congress. Like many of you I felt the Tea Party movement was a bolt out of the blue, but a welcome one. I was also jazzed when the 2010 Republican wave overtook Washington and installed so many freshmen congressmen pledging to cut the federal budget. Also like many of you I am frustrated with the slow pace of cuts and would love to see them come faster.
One of the loudest voices decrying the slow pace of the cuts often comes from the radio talkers. Folks like Limbaugh and Levin, for instance, are heard to lament that the GOP is not being proactive enough with the budget cuts. They say the $10 billion that the House Republicans have been successful in cutting so far with the pair of short-term continuing budgets is a drop in the bucket, that it is almost a joke.
It’s easy to make the case, too, that saving $10 billion is the least of efforts especially when Obama has run us up to $2.5 trillion in debt… and here is where the “but” comes in (not to mention where I get hardcore conservatives mad at me).
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Let’s Have Some Patience on the Budget Cuts”
Roskam Meets with IL-06 Based Company in Ghana
From the office of Peter Roskam (R, IL)…
Discusses economic development as part of African fact-finding mission
ACCRA, GHANA – Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-06) traveled to Ghana earlier this week, leading a fact-finding mission focused on trade, energy, and other economic and social issues in Africa. Monday in Accra, Roskam met with Oak Brook, Ill.-based Opportunity International, a leader in providing financial services to people living in extreme poverty in the developing world.
The group met with Teresa Effie Cooke, head of human resources at Opportunity International Savings & Loan, Ghana. Roskam is leading the bipartisan fact-finding mission, including Congressman Bobby Rush (IL-01), which is being privately sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
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Roskam Meets with IL-06 Based Company in Ghana”
VIDEO: Obamacare Debate at Randy Hultgren’s 14th District Office
-By Warner Todd Huston
Video of an interesting debate between a pro-Obamacare supporter and one against. This video was taken outside the office of newly minted GOP Congressman Randy Hultgren of the 14th District in Illinois.
Steve Tucker engages a young Obamacare supporter in a very interesting, informative conversation.
It’s a nice civil debate for a change.
VIDEO: Obamacare Debate at Randy Hultgren’s 14th District Office”
John Boehner Adamant About Not ‘Shutting Down Government’
-By Warner Todd Huston
RedCounty.com recently re-launched with an enhanced platform and as part of the relaunch, Chip Hanlon has been featuring a multipart interview with Speaker of the House John Boehner (R, OH). Today’s part two segment features the Speaker adamantly refusing to allow any government shut down and saying he will work hard to keep government open. (Part one is here)
Some conservatives will lament this singular focus on preventing a government shut down and worry that Boehner is more interested in keeping government open at any costs than he is in budget cuts. But the Speaker says that furthering the budget cuts is exactly why he wants to be sure and keep government from shutting down.
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John Boehner Adamant About Not ‘Shutting Down Government’”
Claire McCaskill: Another Example of How Democrats Can Get Away With Anything
-By Warner Todd Huston
Back in 2005 Clair McCaskill had a great campaign taunt for her opponent: he used state planes and state funds for
the political use of airplanes all on the taxpayer’s dime. That was bad, she told Missouri’s voters. Now McCakill is the Senator from the Show Me State and guess what? She’s been caught using taxpayer money to fund her own personal flights about the county.
Check out her 2006 political ad:
Notice her money quote: “And we have paid every dime of our taxes.”
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Claire McCaskill: Another Example of How Democrats Can Get Away With Anything”
Fighting to Tighten Washington’s Belt
An Op Ed by Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R, ILL)…
Last year, for the first time in nearly 40 years, the House of Representatives — under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi — failed to pass, or even propose a budget for Fiscal Year 2011. This left Americans without a budget and Democrats without any restraints.
As a result, the American people sent a clear message to Washington last November– cut spending. I came to Washington to do exactly that.
In February, House Republicans passed a long-term CR with $100 billion in cuts. The Senate rejected this proposal, refusing to side with the taxpayers to get our fiscal house in order – leaving Congress to pass a short-term CR with another $4 billion in cuts over two weeks.
On March 15th, the House passed an additional $6 billion in cuts over the next three weeks. The Senate passed this short-term CR two days later for a total of $10 billion in spending cuts. This achievement of permanently cutting $10 billion is a good start, but the cuts will not stop here.
We cannot give up, shutdown and simply hope Senate Democrats will cave. The House only controls one stem of the legislative branch and it’s time for Senate Democrats to work together with the House on a long-term CR that contains significant spending cuts needed to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.
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Fighting to Tighten Washington’s Belt”
For Nancy Pelosi It’s Lonely at the… Bottom
-By Warner Todd Huston
Politico has a sad tale to tell about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (I just love that: former. Say it with me, FORMER House Speaker). The once powerful California Representative held a big one-year celebration of Obamacare to show off her keystone legislative victory and like the kid nobody likes, her invites to the party were ignored by all the top Democrats. Not just some of them, ALL of them!
This is a far cry from the power she wielded only months ago. Back in the old days when Pelosi sent out an invite to a press availability, like she did this week with her Obamacare celebration, the entire leadership would dutifully drop anything they were doing and they’d show up to Pelosi’s little show and they’d do it with bells on.
These days, not so much.
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For Nancy Pelosi It’s Lonely at the… Bottom”
Rep. Peter Roskam: Want a Fresh Start?
From the office of Congressman Peter Roskam (R,IL)…
The American people gave House Republicans some very clear priorities last November, like focus on creating jobs, stop spending money we don’t have, and work to end the Democrats’ job-destroying health care law.
That is the message I heard from my district, and that is exactly what I am working on in Washington.
When the Democrats failed to pass a budget in the last Congress, House Republicans took the challenge of funding the government as an opportunity to begin our cost-cutting work. We voted to pass a long-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year – cutting $100 billion from the President’s budget request.
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Rep. Peter Roskam: Want a Fresh Start?”
House Votes to Defund NPR
-By Warner Todd Huston
On Wednesday morning the GOP led House of Representatives voted to end federal funding for National Public Radio. Saying it made good fiscal sense it is also safe to say that the GOP was catering to its base, a group that has been against funding for NPR for some time.
The bill passed in a 228-192 vote mostly along party lines and will prohibit local NPR stations from using federal funds as well as cut all current funding. This eliminates almost $5 million in federal funding that NPR receives. The bill would not prevent the use of federal funds for producing programs by private firms and individuals…
Read the rest at RightPundits.com.
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House Votes to Defund NPR”
Democrats Discover How to Beat GOP… it’s… Twitter
-By Warner Todd Huston
… no really. Roll Call is reporting that the Democrats have finally figured out how to use Twitter and now they think it will win them the 2012 elections. I guess Al Gore, the inventor of the Internet, gave the DNC a call and let them in on that whole Internet tubes and when they went there they discovered this Twitter thingamajiggie. Crying eureka, the DNC then ran to the press to trumpet its new discovery.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Twitter will lead the Donkey Party to legislative majority once again.
Twitter.
That is their big solution, their grand plan, their hot item for the day.
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Democrats Discover How to Beat GOP… it’s… Twitter”
VIDEO: We Need Less Talk, More Action From President on Debt
Here is the latest video shown to Republican senators on Tuesday. It highlights how our enormous national debt is one of the greatest threats facing our country and highlights the need for swift, serious action to address it. Republicans are urging the president to match his actions to his rhetoric and work with Republicans to develop long-term solutions to our nation’s debt crisis.
Kinzinger Statement on Three-Week Continuing Resolution Vote
From the office of Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL, 11th District)…
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) today issued the following statement on the House passage of the three-week Continuing Resolution (CR) that will cut additional spending, while keeping the federal government running:
“Last November, the American people sent a clear message to Washington — cut spending. I came to Washington to do exactly that.
“House Republicans passed a long-term CR with $100 billion in cuts. The Senate rejected this proposal, refusing to side with the taxpayers to get our fiscal house in order – leaving Congress to pass a short-term CR with another $4 billion in cuts over two weeks. Today, we passed an additional $6 billion in cuts over the next three weeks. If the Senate passes this short-term CR, it will be a total of $10 billion in spending cuts. This achievement of permanently cutting $10 billion is a good start, but the cuts will not stop here.
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Kinzinger Statement on Three-Week Continuing Resolution Vote”
Senate News: McConnell Introduces Amendment To Stop EPA’s Back-Door National Energy Tax
From the office of Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (KY)…
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell introduced an amendment Tuesday to the pending small business bill that would stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s back-door national energy tax from taking effect.
“Imposing a backdoor national energy tax through the EPA is a strange way to respond to rising gas prices,” McConnell said. “Fourteen million Americans are looking for work. Gas prices are approaching $4 a gallon. And the Obama administration wants unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats to impose new regulations that will destroy even more jobs – and drive gas prices even higher.”
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Senate News: McConnell Introduces Amendment To Stop EPA’s Back-Door National Energy Tax”
Roskam Previews Tomorrow’s Forum on Job Creation at House GOP Stakeout
From the office of Congressman Peter Roskam (Ill, 6th District)…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL), Chief Deputy Whip, previewed tomorrow’s Forum on Job Creation at today’s House Republican Leadership Stakeout. The video and transcript are below:
Roskam Previews Tomorrow’s Forum on Job Creation at House GOP Stakeout”
Key Spending Vote Today: Call Now
From Heritage Action for America…
Since yesterday, we’ve gained momentum. Among other conservatives, Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Mike Pence announced their opposition to more short-term CRs. The Washington establishment is taking note. Push your Representative to oppose another three week spending bill now.
>> Call your Representative now: 202-224-3121.
When you call, urge a serious, long-term approach to spending cuts and policy riders. Not sure what to say? See our talking points here.
Every additional week means another lost opportunity to enact the full $61 billion in cuts and deliver the long-term reforms our country needs.
>> Make the call now and post your report to our website.
Thanks for your help on this important fight. Stay tuned,
Russ Vought
Political Director
Heritage Action for America
Why Did 17th District’s Schilling Vote For 2 Pro-Union Amendments?
-By Warner Todd Huston
Newly minted Republican Representative Bobby Schilling from Illinois’ 17th district recently voted in favor of two pro-union amendments in Congress and the votes have caused some folks to go scratching their heads in trying to figure out why he did it.
Schilling ran as the business-oriented candidate against long-time Democrat incumbent Phil Hare, so his two pro-union votes are odd in light of his late campaign rhetoric. So, the Quad-City Times contacted Schilling’s office to find out what was going on.
Schilling’s office replied that one of the votes was simply a mistake. But the second vote Schilling stands up for unapologetically.
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Why Did 17th District’s Schilling Vote For 2 Pro-Union Amendments?”
Just Can’t Win Dept: Unions Honor Traitor Republicans, Dems Call Unions Traitors
-By Warner Todd Huston
Traitors to the right of them, traitors to the left of them, traitors in front of them… behind them, around them within them… in the they-just-can’t-win department, unions held a soiree for the traitor Republicans that voted in favor of some of the pro-union provisions in last week’s temporary budget and their pals in the donkey party were heehawing in rage to beat the band over the whole thing. The news is quite revealing in a number of ways, really.
On March 10 Politico reported that 15 labor groups held a little “thank you” party on Capitol Hill for those Republicans that voted in favor of the few pro-union amendments to the CR. Only those Republicans that voted in favor of the unions were invited.
Of the pro-union amendments, one would have repealed the Davis Bacon prevailing wage law and the second would have prohibited the federal government from observing project labor agreements (PLAs). The latter failed by a 210 to 210 tie vote. Some Republicans claimed that they voted in favor of the PLA amendment by accident due to the flurry of amendments offered in a short space of time before the votes came due.
Democrats on the Hill were not amused by the union’s reaching out to the GOP, though.
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Just Can’t Win Dept: Unions Honor Traitor Republicans, Dems Call Unions Traitors”
Senator Ron Johnson on The Budget and the Debate in Wisconsin
-By Warner Todd Huston
Recently I was part of a conference call with Senator Ron Johnson (R, Wis). Johnson is a member of the GOP wave that over took Washington in the 2010 midterms. In a surprise to many, Johnson defeated long-time Wisconsin Senator, Democrat Russ Feingold.
My first question was one that I have also asked Chief Deputy Whip of the House Peter Roskam. I wondered what Johnson’s position was on the idea of states declaring bankruptcy.
Johnson said that he agrees with Roskam that state should not be allowed to declare bankruptcy. “I totally agree with Peter Roskam. There’s no way the federal government should be called upon to bail out states that have been irresponsible in terms of their spending, that haven’t made the tough choices in their jurisdictions… I would definitely oppose the bailing out of any states”
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Senator Ron Johnson on The Budget and the Debate in Wisconsin”