Whipping Boner

“ It only takes 29 Republicans to deny Boehner a majority. It’s time to have that fight. In my home state of Maryland, there were rampant reports of fraud during early voting in November.  A number of voters who cast ballots for Republican candidates witnessed the computer system automatically flipping their votes in favor of the Democrat candidate. Evidently, this turned out to be a national phenomenon. In other states, voters did indeed cast votes for Republicans, only to see the mandate overturned by the D.C. Oligarchy led by Barack Obama, John Boehner, and Mitch McConnell. It is hard to exaggerate what has just occurred in Congress.  Democrats were completely repudiated and defeated in November.  Then, Obama unilaterally sacked our system of governance and granted amnesty with the flick of the wrist.  Yet, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell worked hand-in-glove to help the defeated Democrats pass a budget that fully funds Obama’s entire lawless operation for the rest of the year – as if the executive amnesty never happened. Fight Boehner in January: Many felt that fighting Boehner during the Speaker’s vote in January was a futile exercise. But if this doesn’t change that mindset, Boehner will now know he has no reason to fear conservatives. It only takes 29 Republicans to deny Boehner a majority. When some grassroots liberals began to oppose the bill because of tangential provisions, Obama and his allies reminded them that they had gotten “virtually everything” they wanted from the bill.  This, after losing an election. Stunningly, only 67 Republicans, 29% of the House membership voted against it.  Even many of those members only opposed the bill once they realized their votes were no longer needed. So where do we go from here? We can’t change Obama.  We can’t change the GOP establishment.  But we can change the way the allegedly conservative members operate. GOP leadership has been at war with them for years; it’s time they act accordingly. It’s time for all of the members who claim to be part of the conservative base of the party to unite behind several clear goals: Stand Behind Defund Rider: The time to begin fighting amnesty is now, not in January. Conservatives must band together and commit to taking down the rule on any budget bill to fund DHS (the only remaining bill, thanks to passage of the CRomniibus) that does not contain a full defund rider ...- See more Form a New Caucus: As conservatives have advocated many times before, it’s time for the 30 or so conservative members to leave the corrupted Republican Study Committee and form a group that will actively promote a conservative vision inside Congress. Despite publicly stating their intent to use every budgetary tool at their disposal to... - See more Pledge to Oppose Procedural Votes: The forgotten lesson from this fight is that conservatives had the ability to block this bill but failed to do so.  When it became apparent that Democrats would all oppose the procedural vote, it only took about 17 Republicans to defeat the rule on the bill and kill the legislation.  We came up one vote short.  Had just one of the other 51 members who opposed final passage agreed to vote against the rule, this bill would have been defeated.  If conservatives are to learn... - See more Fight Boehner in January: Many felt that fighting Boehner during the Speaker’s vote in January was a futile exercise.  But if this doesn’t change that mindset, Boehner will now know he has no reason to fear conservatives.  It only takes 29 Republicans to deny Boehner a majority.  It’s time to have that fight.  Once Boehner is denied the majority, the vote will go back to conference.  Sure, we will never get a conservative as Speaker, but we need to make it clear that conservatives will have veto power over someone who has failed at his job and has betrayed the trust of the conference. [The full deck] I am particularly fond of Form a New Caucus:, and Fight Boehner in January.  Several years ago I noted how just about a dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus held the balance of power, forcing DEMS to cater to their whims.  I saw this as a realistic way for Libertarians—then the only dissenting voice to establishment GOP cave-in dwellers—to wield power if they concentrated on getting House MOH elected.  Now, a united Tea Party, which includes recalcitrants like MD Rep. Andy Harris who, I'm saddened to say, voted with the Boner gang, can flex some real muscle. ”

Punks Punking

a major award

“ UCLA law professor learns Ferguson-related exam question taboo [...] Professor Robert Goldstein said the exam question was designed to test students’ ability to analyze the line between free speech and inciting violence. It cited a report about how Michael Brown’s stepfather, Louis Head, shouted, “Burn this bitch down!” after a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown. The question then asked students to imagine that they are lawyers in the St. Louis County Attorney’s office and had been asked to advise the prosecutor “whether to seek an indictment against Head” for inciting violence. The exam reads: “[As] a recent hire in the office, you are asked to write a memo discussing the relevant First Amendment issues in such a prosecution. Write the memo.” But students complained, and writer Elie Mystal at the popular legal blog “Above the Law” opined that the test question was “racially insensitive and divisive.” Mystal also incorrectly alleged that the question asked students to “advocate in favor of extremist racists in Ferguson.” Goldstein has apologized for putting the question on the test and has promised not to grade the question. [...] Shame on Goldstein.  Shame on his students. Shame on UCLA.  Shame on a culture that finds this in the least bit acceptable.  ”