American Government Must Be Torn Down and Rebuilt

-By Warner Todd Huston

In New York you need a license to work as a gas pumper at a gas station. A contradiction since you do not need that expensive license, training, and government meddling to pump your own gas in New York. In Chicago it is supposedly illegal to fly a kite inside the city limits. In Delaware it is illegal to have a basketball hoop on your driveway. In nearly every city and town it is illegal to build a shed on your own property without government approval and fees spent to “allow” you to do so.

These are all examples of how the United States of America has fallen severely away from the land of liberty and personal freedom we once enjoyed. These are also examples of why we need politicians that will run on eliminating laws, regulations, a government meddling, not adding more.

We are being “governmented” to death, America. The nanny state has reached out to quash everything we as individuals want to do. We cannot put up a yard fence, we aren’t allowed to park certain vehicles on our own property, we cannot have garage sales without licenses, fees, “allowances,” and government meddling.
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American Government Must Be Torn Down and Rebuilt”


YouTube Launches New Congressional Townhall Channel

-By Warner Todd Huston

This week Youtube launched a new channel it is calling the “Youtube Townhall,” a new channel where members of congress are seen in short videos discussing the issues of the day.

Republican Senators Alexander, McCain, Moran, Lugar, Sessions, Isakson, and Hutchison have already uploaded videos to the channel and more are on the way. Republican Representatives Steve Chabot and Phil Gingrey have also added videos.

Interestingly, the identification of the members of Congress do not include party affiliation on the site.

Youtube’s description of its new site is as follows:
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YouTube Launches New Congressional Townhall Channel”


The Fannie Mae Mess

-By Alan Caruba

It was a relatively short Wall Street Journal article on Saturday, May 7th. “Fannie Mae Falls Back Into the Loss Column.”

“Fannie Mae reported a net loss of $6.5 billion for the first quarter as a weakening housing market dashed hopes that the company had stabilities,” wrote Nick Timiraos. “Fannie said Friday it would ask the government for a fresh taxpayer infusion of $6.2 billion after paying dividends to the Treasury.”

What we are witnessing—and paying for—is the way this “government-sponsored enterprise” (GSE) has distorted the nation’s housing market since it came into being. Freddie Mac is another GSE that shares the blame.

In a Cato Institute Policy Analysis by David Reiss, the author notes that “Fannie and Freddie are extraordinary large companies: together they own or guarantee more than 40 percent of all the residential mortgages in the United States. This amounts to more than 4.2 trillion dollars in mortgages.”
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The Fannie Mae Mess”


EXCLUSIVE Interview with Rep. Peter Roskam About Israel, Unified Palestinian Govt., And US Foreign Policy

By Jeff Dunetz

The past few months have seen unexpected developments in the Middle East, the continuing “Arab Awakening,” Egypt’s slide toward being controlled by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, Syria and Libya in revolt; it seemed as if for the first time in recent history the Israeli-Palestinian dispute represented the calmest place in this violence-prone area of the world.

That all changed in early May when the Palestinian Authority, run by the “moderate” terrorists of the Fatah party, agreed to reunite with the more overt terrorists of Hamas who rule over the Gaza Strip.

…This morning Politico carried an op-ed composed by two members of the House GOP leadership: Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and Peter Roskam (R-Ill) Deputy Majority Whip and Co-Chair of Republican Israel Caucus.

I had the opportunity to interview Congressman Roskam this morning. We discussed the Politico op-ed as well as other key issues regarding American foreign policy as it relates to Israel and the Middle East. Below is that interview, beginning with an overview of the situation provided by the Congressman….

Read the rest at YidWithLid.


Hamas Poisons Peace Process

-By Rep. Eric Cantor and Rep. Peter Roskam

As the news of Osama bin Laden’s death spread, the free world breathed a deep sigh of relief and praised the United States for its accomplishment.

But in the Palestinian territories, such sentiments were not shared.

In the eyes of Ismail Haniyeh and the infamous Hamas terrorist organization he leads, the operation “marks the continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood.” Really?

If killing the man responsible for the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history — not to mention the aggressor who did more to subjugate and kill fellow Muslims who disagree with his worldview than perhaps any other individual on earth — makes us oppressors, then how would Hamas describe bin Laden?
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Hamas Poisons Peace Process”


Democrats FINALLY Talking of Cutting Back Govt Employee Pensions

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Washington Post had a recent piece saying that it looks like Washington is finally coming to the stark realization that the benefits and pensions of federal workers are wildly over promised and even Democrats are finally contemplating cuts in federal pensions.

The GOP has already targeted these pensions by proposing that federal workers contribute more toward their own pension benefits. As the Post slantedly puts it, this policy plan would “effectively impose an immediate 5 percent pay cut on more than 2 million federal employees”

Of course, it would not be cutting their pay at all, sadly. It would merely be deferring until retirement when they get the cash. Sure their pay should be cut — heck thousands need to be simply fired outright — but there is no pay cut being proposed.
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Democrats FINALLY Talking of Cutting Back Govt Employee Pensions”


Ill. House GOP Leader Cross: House Passes State Budget, Drives Down Spending‏

From the office of Illinois GOP House leader Tom Cross…

For years, House Republicans have driven the discussion on the need for fiscal discipline and to stop spending money we don’t have. Today we took a dramatic step forward passing the first budget in years that actually forces the state to live within its means; and actually spends less than we did the year before. We are pleased that our friends across the aisle joined us in this fiscal discipline.

See the video HERE.

It is never easy to make cuts, but the budgets we passed this week will keep our promise to spend no more than our revenue estimate of $33.2 billion. This is the only way we’re ever going to get our bills paid and get our state finances back on track.
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Ill. House GOP Leader Cross: House Passes State Budget, Drives Down Spending‏”


Democrats Against Our Intelligence Community

-By Warner Todd Huston

Representatives Dennis Kucinich (D, Ohio), Barbara Lee (D, Calif.), Pete Stark (D, Calif.) and Lynn Woolsey (D, Calif.) Democrats all, do not seem to like our intel folks, especially those brave men that helped take out Osama bin Ladden — at President Obama’s orders, I’ll remind you.

Late last week the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution of support honoring our intelligence community for its excellent, painstaking work in finding and eliminating Osama bin Ladden, murderer of untold thousands of Americans and others.
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Democrats Against Our Intelligence Community”


A Tidal Wave of Debt

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (Ill, 6th District)…

It’s no secret America is facing a tidal wave of debt.

We all know that Washington must stop spending money it does not have. At its current rate, Medicare will go bankrupt in just nine years. Think about that.

If we do nothing, we’re guaranteeing that Medicare and other crucial safety net programs won’t exist for the next generation.

Disturbingly, Democrats’ plan does nothing to save these programs. In fact, the White House’s own budget lets Medicare simply go bankrupt, all while increasing taxes by $1.5 trillion on job creators. That is not a serious proposal.
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A Tidal Wave of Debt”


Another Example of How Ron Paul is Hypocritical on Supposed Fiscal Responsibility

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ron Paul’s acolytes like to claim that “Doctor” Paul is the only candidate that is serious on fiscal matters, the only candidate that is fiscally conservative, the only one that talks the talk and walks the walk. Too bad this is all BS… and here is yet another example of this fact.

T. Boone Pickens is back again. After he tried to make a big splash out of his ideas on windmill power (epic fail, that one), the Pick man is back at the public trough urging Congress to create a number of taxpayer-funded subsidies for companies that buy and manufacture vehicles that run on natural gas.

The Pickster has roped a whole gaggle of Republicans into his next boondoggle and guess who has signed onto the bill? Yep, Mr. fiscal responsibility hisself “Doctor” Ron Paul.
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Another Example of How Ron Paul is Hypocritical on Supposed Fiscal Responsibility”


Blame (Republican) SB35 Opponents for Illinois DREAM Act Passage

-By Doug Ibendahl

“The decay of the Soviet experiment should come as no surprise to us. Wherever the comparisons have been made between free and closed societies — West Germany and East Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, Malaysia and Vietnam — it is the democratic countries that are prosperous and responsive to the needs of their people.” – Ronald Reagan

A lot of Republicans are outraged that 11 Republican State Senators helped the Democrats pass the Illinois DREAM Act last week (the bill is now in the House).

The outrage is certainly justified. But it wasn’t just the DREAM Act. The GOP Platform took a beating on several fronts last week.
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Blame (Republican) SB35 Opponents for Illinois DREAM Act Passage”


AP Tars Tea Party Movement as ‘Grandfathered’ By Ron Paul

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a story by Jay Root for the Associated Press, the news wire service tries to tar the entire Tea Party movement with guilt by association claiming that it was somehow fathered or “grandfathered” by Texas Representative Ron Paul, the cranky uncle of the GOP. The fact is Ron Paul had nothing at all to do with the Tea Party movement. The claim that he did is a calumny, one that the AP hopes will discredit the Tea Party movement.

In the Story, the AP claims that Ron Paul is “both a spiritual father and actual father in the tea party movement.” It mentions that his son, Rand, is a “tea party darling” (that one is true, at least) and claims that since Paul had a 2007 event he called a “‘Tea Party Fundraiser’ aboard a shrimp boat near Galveston,” that must make him the father of the Tea Party movement.

Then AP finds some Paulbot to claim that, to him, “Ron Paul is the tea party.” Well, that settles it, huh? Because a Paulienut says it’s so, why it must be. At least that is what the AP wants its readers to believe.
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AP Tars Tea Party Movement as ‘Grandfathered’ By Ron Paul”


moRon Paul Says We Shouldn’t Have Killed Osama bin Ladden!

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ron Paul, the GOP’s cranky old uncle, has been spouting his isolationist, appeaser-styled foreign policy ideas for decades but with this bin Ladden business he has again gone too far. Now Ron Paul says we should never have killed Osama bin Ladden.

Ron Paul says he would not have authorized the mission that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, and that President Barack Obama should have worked with the Pakistani government instead of authorizing a raid.

As to if he would have given the go-ahead to kill OBL, Paul said:

“I don’t think it was necessary, no. It absolutely was not necessary,” Paul said during his Tuesday comments. “I think respect for the rule of law and world law and international law. What if he’d been in a hotel in London? We wanted to keep it secret, so would we have sent the airplane, you know the helicopters into London, because they were afraid the information would get out?”

So, moRon Paul would go to our avowed enemies and ask them if pretty, pretty please will they help us capture the guy they love and have been hiding from us for more than a decade.
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moRon Paul Says We Shouldn’t Have Killed Osama bin Ladden!”


Roskam Remarks at House Energy Action Team Press Conference on Energy Bills

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (Ill., 6th)…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Peter Roskam, Chief Deputy Whip, spoke at the House Energy Action Team (HEAT)’s press conference on current energy legislation to lower gas prices and create jobs. Today, the House passed H.R. 1229, the Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act, and will soon vote on H.R. 1231, Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act. Roskam is the co-chair of H.E.A.T.

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Roskam Remarks at House Energy Action Team Press Conference on Energy Bills”


Kinzinger, House Freshmen Call on President Obama to End “MediSCARE” Tactics

From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill. 11)…

Yesterday, Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) along with his freshman colleagues, reiterated their call on the President at a press conference to keep his commitment made at the 2010 Republican Retreat in Baltimore to have a fact-based conversation immediately over reforming spending on entitlement programs and addressing the debt crisis now before it is insurmountable. (See .pdf of letter)

Last year, President Obama asked, “At what point can we have a serious conversation about Medicare and its long-term liability…or a serious conversation about budget and debt in which we’re not simply trying to position ourselves politically?’ The President went on to say we cannot start these discussions by asking “who’s to blame,” who is “trying to hurt our senior citizens” or “how can we make the American people afraid of the other side.” The President said this is what he’s “committed to doing.”
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Kinzinger, House Freshmen Call on President Obama to End “MediSCARE” Tactics”


‘A Government of Laws, and Not of Men’: The Electoral College

-By Nancy Salvato

In Federalist 51, James Madison writes,

“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”

Madison’s concern is that, even though the people are sovereign, hold the ultimate authority over the government, there need be additional mechanisms to assist in preventing the possibility of power becoming consolidated within a particular faction of those charged with governing on our behalf. Should power become consolidated under one entity, and the faction abuse its authority, the people would be ruled through tyranny, denying them their ultimate sovereignty unless they take drastic measures to remove the authority from power.

Perhaps what Madison is saying here is better understood through an analogy of what can happen when those charged with looking after our best interests give greater concern to selfish motives. Until a child grows into an adult, he or she cannot make all the decisions associated with being grown up. In such a case, all power is vested in one or two parents who are expected to make decisions in the best interest of the child. Sometimes one or both parents make really bad decisions that can cause irreparable damage to a child. This might require a drastic measure, such as a child protective services agency stepping in to remove the child from the situation. James Madison feared that those in a position of power may not always put our rights first. This problem would become much worse, and more drastic measures would need to be taken, when all authority is vested in one entity that is in charge of all decision making, as in the situation of a child with abusive parents.

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‘A Government of Laws, and Not of Men’: The Electoral College”


Wanted: A Commonsense U.S. Energy Policy

By Congressman Peter Roskam (R, Ill.)

Americans have weathered one economic storm after another over the last few years. Yet, time and again, Washington policies have only made our families’ woes worse. From a failed trillion dollar stimulus to a healthcare overhaul that costs jobs and makes healthcare more expensive, Washington policies keep making it harder when Americans need the help most.

The latest: gas. Just as our economy is showing signs of recovery, gas prices are skyrocketing. In Chicagoland, a gallon of gas already costs over $4.50. That means pain for family budgets and employers trying to control costs and hire new workers. But smart federal policies can help. If we choose wisely, we can help lower energy costs for families with an all-of-the-above energy approach.

Taking advantage of America’s natural resources is a commonsense way to lower gas prices, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create jobs here. Unfortunately, many refuse to listen to commonsense.
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Wanted: A Commonsense U.S. Energy Policy”


Dear Federal Gov’t, Who Do You Think You Are?

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of the main forces behind the Tea Party movement and the disgust that many Americans have with the federal government is its supreme arrogance and its constant unwanted and unwarranted power grabs. This is one of the things that the American people really need to put their attention toward reversing.

Perhaps it is just beginning?

Alaska, for instance, has just thrown its weight behind the opposition to the federal government’s obscene persecution of an Alaskan citizen who was arrested for violating rules that the federal government has imposed on those Alaskan waterways flowing through national parks.
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Dear Federal Gov’t, Who Do You Think You Are?”


GM Exec: Reporting GM’s Failures Hurts… Republicans?

-By Warner Todd Huston

In an odd turn of events, former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz thinks that anyone that criticizes GM is not only “mis-informed” but insists that those “foaming ideologues” that criticize the car giant are “damaging the Republican Party.”

It is interesting that an executive in the company derided as “Government Motors” is trying to direct attention away from his minders in the Obama administration and toward the opposing party, and just before a general election at that.

It is also interesting to see Lutz defending GM as the “future” of the car business. Lately GM has not been turning out the sort of products that puts the company at the head of much of anything.
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GM Exec: Reporting GM’s Failures Hurts… Republicans?”


Federalist Papers Identified How Democrats Would Destroy Us

-By Warner Todd Huston

Our fourth president, James Madison, has been called the father of the Constitution for not inconsiderable reasons. Madison was highly educated, widely read, and well thought of. He was also a prescient man. Madison was so prescient that in February of 1788 he was able to describe the precise reasons why his beloved Republic would be faring so badly 222 years later in 2010.

Madison’s far-reaching delineation of our current troubles appears in the Federalist Papers, a document that Thomas Jefferson proclaimed “the best commentary on the principles of government ever written.” There in Federalist 62 — his explanation of the senate — we find an amazingly clear prediction of how badly we’ve gone off track in Washington D.C., not to mention our state and local governments.

Student of history that he was, Madison understood that democratic governments often suffer from the malady of unfaithful elected officials. “It is a misfortune incident to republican government,” Madison wrote, “that those who administer it may forget their obligations to their constituents, and prove unfaithful to their important trust.”
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Federalist Papers Identified How Democrats Would Destroy Us”


Telling Us Who They Fear: Left-Wing Journo Attacks Rep. Allen West

-By Warner Todd Huston

Brandon K. Thorp, a gay activist from the alternative weekly Broward-Palm Beach New Times newspaper, is only the latest left-winger to launch into a verbal assault on Lt. Col. Allen West, now a Representative from Florida’s 22nd District. Like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman, Rep. West is one of the many conservatives that leftists fear the most. We know this because the left’s constant, fevered, overwrought attacks tell us so.

This time Thorp, who also has worked for CNN, is all hot-n-bothered by West’s April 19 use of an historical reference to rally conservative and Republican women to the cause. In an address to a *Women Impacting the Nation meeting in Boca, West urged conservative women to raise strong men by relating to them the example of the Spartan women of ancient Greece.

“When you understood what made the Spartan men strong it was the Spartan women,” West told those gathered. Thorp thought this whole meme was not only “ungraceful,” but proved West is “hateful and stupid.” Further Thorp’s poison pen informs us that he thinks West is “not nearly smart enough to give coherent extemporaneous speeches.”

Thorp’s first offbase criticism is over whether West should have been addressing his comments to mothers or fathers.
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Telling Us Who They Fear: Left-Wing Journo Attacks Rep. Allen West”


Left Laments Ryan’s GOP Budget NOT Raising America’s Ire

-By Warner Todd Huston

The left is desperate to color Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s GOP budget plan (The Path to Prosperity, as it is styled) as the end of America, crazed to call his plan a killer of old people, and maniacal about saying that the GOP and Ryan want to destroy the country by asking for a few budget cuts. The left even claims that “the country” or “the people” are against the GOP budget proposal. But even lefty blogger Dave Weigel is asking the seminal question: where are the protests?

Now, there does seem to be enough evidence that the people are not very optimistic about America’s economic outlook. And members of Congress are certainly feeling the heat over the budget. I recently spoke to GOP Chief Deputy Whip Rep. Peter Roskam and he confirms that. So, the American people are exercised about the budget. They just aren’t mad about the Ryan plan.

The fact seems to be that the Democrat’s are losing the issue and all their demagoguery against Ryan — led by the chief demagogue in the White House — are not winning the American people over to their side by trying to make Paul Ryan out to be an ogre.
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Left Laments Ryan’s GOP Budget NOT Raising America’s Ire”


Like Him or Not, Ron Paul is Relevant

-By Chris Slavens

At age 75, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) is the oldest of a crowd of potential Republican presidential challengers, if only by a few years. If elected in 2012, he would be the oldest president in U.S. history; the record-holder, Reagan, assumed office at age 69. The uninformed reader might jump to the incorrect conclusion that Paul, who is old enough to be President Obama’s father, is hopelessly out of touch with the young voters who turned out in 2008 and ignorantly propelled a dangerous radical into the highest office of the land, but as anyone who pays attention to political chatter knows, Paul is wildly popular with the under-thirty crowd.

Paul won a GOP presidential straw poll on April 16 in South Carolina, easily beating Mitt Romney and Donald Trump, who tied for second place. Paul has been winning such polls left and right since the libertarian-rooted Tea Party became a political force in 2009, but his popularity among Republicans continues to be underemphasized by mainstream media outlets, which frequently (and probably intentionally) identify him as a libertarian rather than a Republican.

According to the talking heads, Romney, Huckabee, Palin, and Gingrich are the Republicans worth paying attention to as the 2012 election cycle approaches. Hesitant to take Trump’s candidacy seriously, they laughingly praise his ability to generate publicity, and might or might not remember to mention Paul, Bachmann, Pawlenty, and a handful of others. The fixation on Romney and Huckabee is somewhat understandable, as they hold impressive leads in most of the polls, but might prove to be unjustified as the race heats up.
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Like Him or Not, Ron Paul is Relevant”


Rep. Peter Roskam on the Ryan Budget Plan: Obama’s Lack of Leadership Gives GOP a Leading Issue

-By Warner Todd Huston

No one but the worst sycophant thinks that President Obama’s latest stab at a federal budget is a serious plan. In fact, that he’s come before the American people again with a second budget plan itself bespeaks of a president badly floundering on the issue. This has left the Republican Party, and more specifically the GOP led House of Representatives, as the only real game in town on the budget, the debt, and in correcting the Bacchanalia of spending that Congress has indulged for nigh on the last 100 years.

Sadly the Old Media has let Obama skate on the fact that this is his second stab at a budget. If this had been a Republican president forced to throw away his first budget plan, forced to offer a second one, the Old Media would be proclaiming him a president in trouble, a failed leader, a man without influence. Obama, however, has been given a complete pass on his total failure to lead and convince.

Regardless, the GOP has proven to be the adults in the room here with its public face of Paul Ryan and his “path to prosperity” budget plan. As flawed as it might be it is the only serious plan on the table at this time.

I recently spoke to GOP Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R, IL) about the House plan.
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Rep. Peter Roskam on the Ryan Budget Plan: Obama’s Lack of Leadership Gives GOP a Leading Issue”


Indiana Democrat Fleebagger’s Hotel Bill Completely Paid for by Unions

-By Warner Todd Huston

It wasn’t long ago that Indiana Democrats fled the Hoosier state so that they could avoid doing their job in the state legislature. These Democrats self-righteously claimed that they were doing this “for the people” and insisted that they should be considered as heroes. One Indiana Democrat even claimed that his running off to Illinois to luxuriate in a resort hotel was somehow just like being a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.

Well, after weeks and weeks of patting themselves on the back as working “for the people” we now see just who these fleebagging Democrats were really working for… and it sure as heck wasn’t “the people.”

A recent campaign finance report was released that shows that the entire $84,953.70 hotel bill at the Comfort Suites Urbana was paid for by unions. That’s right, unions.
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Indiana Democrat Fleebagger’s Hotel Bill Completely Paid for by Unions”


Another Democrat That Hates the US Constitution

-By Warner Todd Huston

Making it easier every day to assert that Democrats hate the U.S. Constitution, once again we find a Democrat in Congress expressing disgust with the law of the land. This time extremist, left-wing Democrat Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D, CA) was heard complaining to a lefty radio host that many of her new colleagues are just too darned concerned with whether or not the actions of Congress are Constitutional.

Last week Sanchez was on the low-rated Stephanie Miller radio show complaining that many of the 87 new freshman congressmen were too worried if what they were voting on passed muster with the supreme law of the land.

“Everything to them is unconstitutional,” she whined. “It’s unconstitutional, it’s unconstitutional, it’s unconstitutional.”
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Another Democrat That Hates the US Constitution”


Rep. Gutierrez Threatens Not to Support Obama Re-election Over Immigration

-By Warner Todd Huston

Chicago area Congressman Luis Gutierrez has been harping on the immigration issue for many years and since Obama was elected he has stepped up that activism. Gutierrez wants complete amnesty and an open border and he’s been unhappy with the Obama Administration for its lack of movement on the issue. Now he’s threatening not to support Obama’s 2012 reelection bid over his stymied immigration bill.

Gutierrez has been desperate to get an amnesty bill through Congress but has been stonewalled even by other Democrats. In 2009 he tried it. At that time I interviewed Rep. Brian Billbray who said that Gutierrez was merely setting up the next major wave of illegal immigration with his bill.

Last year Gutierrez even tried to shoehorn gay issues into an immigration bill in order to get his failed ideas passed. He pushed hard for the DREAM Act but that failed, too.
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Rep. Gutierrez Threatens Not to Support Obama Re-election Over Immigration”


Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. Attacks Apple iPad

-By Warner Todd Huston

Chicago area Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. is apparently as fickle as he is uninformed about economics and the Constitution both. In March we saw him praising the Apple iPad as technology so important that he wanted to have the federal government buy one for every American student. Only a month later he was calling the iPad a destroyer of American jobs. Talk about a whiplash inducing turn around.

In March, Jackson was pleased to announce a brilliant idea to put a provision into the Constitution that gives every student an iPad and a laptop computer. After a week of ridicule, Rep. Jackson doubled down on that plan saying that the iPad had so fundamentally altered education that it should be a right.

And now, only a month later Jackson has made a complete turnaround on the iPad calling it a destroyer of American jobs.
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Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. Attacks Apple iPad”


Illinois Going to Pot? GOP Leader Now Supporting Medical Marijuana Bill

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Illinois Family Institute is a bit worried over the sudden about face that House GOP Leader Tom Cross has made on HB 30, a bill that includes legalizing medical marijuana sales in Illinois.

On April 15, Fox News Chicago reported that Cross switched from a “no” vote to “yes” because he had talked to people who use medical marijuana, “including one man who is a disabled veteran.”

Cross said the key to the legislation is that it limits marijuana use to particularly painful diseases such as cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus and Crones’ Disease.

Cross told Fox that he supports the bill because it has “tight restrictions” on how medical marijuana can be used and sold.
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Illinois Going to Pot? GOP Leader Now Supporting Medical Marijuana Bill”


CBS’ Bob Schieffer, Class Warrior: Hey, I know. Let’s Soak the Rich!

-By Warner Todd Huston

If there was any doubt about how hostile the Old Media is toward tax cuts, spending cuts, and making government accountable and Constitutionally justifiable, CBS’ Bob Schieffer is happy to dispel that doubt. On the April 17 episode of Face the Nation, Schieffer asked Congressman Paul Ryan (R, WS) why we can’t just soak the rich to solve our budget problems.

In a discussion with Rep. Ryan, the GOP’s go-to budget guy, Schieffer expressed his shock that government doesn’t just tax the bejeebus out of “the wealthiest Americans.” Schieffer was aghast at how the GOP is “reducing the amount of taxes that the richest people in the country pay” and asked Ryan if he, Schieffer, is “misinformed” about the whole tax cut issue.

Ryan was kind not to point out that Schieffer is, indeed, “misinformed”… as usual.

But, perhaps Schieffer isn’t merely misinformed. Perhaps he is ideologically blinded? His comments seem to prove that he is.
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CBS’ Bob Schieffer, Class Warrior: Hey, I know. Let’s Soak the Rich!”