Conservative revolt fails, Boehner keeps his job. How the Tennesee delegation voted.

Twenty-five Republican members of the House voted against John Boehner for Speaker. The only Republican member of the Tennessee delegation to vote against Boehner was Rep. Scott DesJarlais. 

To be elected speaker requires more than half the votes of the members voting. Boehner got 216 votes out of the 408 votes cast. To deny Boehner a victory on the first ballot 29 Republicans would have had to vote against him. Had he failed to win a majority of votes cast then another vote would have had to be taken until someone got a majority of the votes of the members voting.

There was little danger that voting against Boehner would have led to Nancy Pelosie or a Democrat having been elected speaker since over 50 Republicans would have had to vote "present" rather than casting a vote for a candidate.  Even if Pelosie got the most votes and the Republican vote was split, she would not have been elected Speaker. If Boehner had not won, and members would have held firm, then a candidate other than Boehner that could have been agreeable to the majority of those voting would have had to be placed in nomination. So, 29 Republicans not voting for Boehner could have led to the election of someone other than Boehner. I am not advocating that that is what Republicans should have done, simply pointing out the process.

For a list of the Republicans who voted against Boehner, follow this link.

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House votes to raise the debt limit. John Boehner must go! How the TN delegation voted.

The House today voted to raise the debt limit again, without wrestling any spending concessions from Democrats and the administration. The vote was not close. With a vote of 221 to 201 the motion carried with 16 votes to spare. The Tennessee delegation voted along party lines; all republicans voting "no" and Democrats Jim Cooper and Steve Cohen voting "yes."

Twenty-eight Republicans broke ranks and voted with the 193 Democrats who voted to raise the debt limit. Only two Democrats voted "no."  Notable Republicans who voted "yes" included Republican Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor. While I have been hesitant to say it was time for the House to elect a new speaker, I think now it is time for Boehner to go! 

This was a major capitulation and betrayal on the part of Boehner who in 2011 established what has become known as the “Boehner Rule” which said any debt ceiling increase was must be offset by an equivalent spending cuts. I can understand the reluctance to possibly shutting down the government again this close to the 2014 elections. However, I think Republicans should have stood firm and at least got some spending concessions from the Democrats. Instead, Boehner rolled over and played dead.

I think Paul Ryan, Marsha Blackburn, or Diane Black would make a good House Speaker. In the Senate, Senator Ted Cruz has said he would filibuster the measure to force a 60-vote threshold.

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Americans for Limited Government praises Speaker Boehner for More Cuts to Budget,

Urges Passage of Balanced Budget Amendment

April 9th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising House Speaker John Boehner for getting $38.5 billion in more cuts to the 2011 budget in a deal that will fund the military through the year and averts a government shutdown:

"Speaker Boehner is to be congratulated for forcing through more real budget cuts in the midnight deal to prevent a shutdown than even his own Appropriations Committee initially proposed. This is a good first step toward restoring fiscal sanity in our nation.

"As our nation faces a real government shutdown in just a few weeks as we reach the limit on how much money the federal government can borrow, we urge the Speaker to keep the pressure on to create institutional changes that permanently pull our nation back from the brink of financial disaster before agreeing to any increase in the debt ceiling. Speaker Boehner has the political momentum, and the American people will no longer stand for giving the politicians in DC a blank check.

"It is our hope that the Speaker will force the Senate and House Democrats to at a minimum send the Balanced Budget Amendment proposed by Senators McConnell and Hatch to the states for ratification in exchange for an increase in the government's credit limit. Our nation can no longer afford to keep borrowing and a strong balanced budget amendment would force fiscal sanity and preserve our nation's historic greatness."

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Shut 'er Down! Did Republicans Cave?

I know many Kamikaze Republican are disappointed the government did not shut down.

They wanted Republicans to hold firm to a plan to cut the budget $100 billion and not pass any budget that cut less. Democrats were not going to pass a budget with $100 billion in cuts, the government would have shut down, Republican would have been blamed, nothing would have been accomplished and this would have guaranteed the reelection of Barack Obama the same way Republicans helped reelect President Clinton when in 1996 they shut down the government. Actually, Republicans did not shut down the government in 1996; Clinton did by vetoing the budget he was sent by Congress. It did not matter; Republicans got the blame. This time the government would not have been shut down because the President vetoed a budget sent to him by Congress, but would have shut down because Congress did not sent him a budget.The result would have been the same; Republicans would have been blamed for the shut down.

I realized the seriousness of the budget crisis. I realized we have a $14 Trillion national debt and 40 cent of every dollar the government spends is borrowed money.  I realize we have a crisis. Please do not lecture me on the debt. I am fully aware of the enormity of the problem.  We have a crisis. I get it. However, shutting down the government would have led to Republicans losing elections and the Democrats would have won the PR battle. Most Americans are still in denial about the financial status of our nation. Shutting down the government would not have convinced them of anything.


While I would have preferred a larger cut, I actually think this is a pretty good beginning on a return to financial responsibility.

Boehner said the agreement will “cut spending and keep our government open,” and this agreement will cut hundreds of billions of dollars in spending over the next decade  and will “help create a better environment for job creators in our country.”

Here are some key facts on the bipartisan agreement: (link)

• THE LARGEST SPENDING CUT IN AMERICAN HISTORY.  The agreement will immediately cut $38.5 billion in federal spending – the largest spending cut in American history in terms of dollars – just months after President Obama asked Congress for a spending “freeze” that would mean zero cuts. 

• HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS IN SPENDING CUTS OVER THE NEXT DECADE.  The agreement will cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the federal budget over the next decade – “real money,” as the Wall Street Journal editorial board recently noted.

• OFFICIALLY ENDS THE “STIMULUS” SPENDING BINGE.  The agreement begins to reverse the “stimulus” spending binge that began in 2009 – signaling the official end of a period of unprecedented government intervention that former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan and other economists say hurt job creation in America by crowding out private investment. 

• SETS STAGE FOR TRILLIONS MORE IN SPENDING CUTS.  Clears the way for congressional action on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget – The Path to Prosperity – which cuts trillions in spending and offers a long-term blueprint for American job creation.

• GUARANTEES SENATE VOTE ON REPEAL OF OBAMACARE.  The agreement reached with Senate Democrats guarantees a Senate debate and vote on legislation that would repeal President Obama’s government takeover of health care in its entirety.  The House passed such legislation in January as part of the Pledge to America.

• NEW TOOLS IN THE FIGHT TO REPEAL OBAMACARE.  The agreement will generate new tools for the fight to repeal Obamacare by requiring numerous studies that will force the Obama Administration to reveal the true impact of the law’s mandates, including a study of how individuals and families will see increased premiums as a result of certain Obamacare mandates; a full audit of all the waivers that the Obama Administration has given to firms and organizations – including unions - who can't meet the new annual coverage limits; a full audit of what's happening with the comparative effectiveness research funding that was in Obamacare and the president’s failed “stimulus” spending bill; and a report on all of the contractors who have been hired to implement the law and the costs to taxpayers of such contracts.    

• DENIES ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO THE IRS.  The Obama administration has sought increased federal funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – money that could be used to hire additional agents to enforce the administration’s agenda on a variety of issues.  This increased funding is denied in the agreement.

• GUARANTEES SENATE VOTE & DEBATE ON DE-FUNDING PLANNED PARENTHOOD.  The agreement with Senate Democrats guarantees a Senate debate and vote on legislation that would end federal funding for Planned Parenthood. 

• BANS TAXPAYER FUNDING OF ABORTION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.  The agreement includes a complete ban on local and federal funding of abortion in the District of Columbia, applying the pro-life principles of the Hyde Amendment (“D.C. Hyde”). 

• MANDATORY AUDITS OF THE NEW JOB-CRUSHING BUREAUCRACY SET UP UNDER DODD-FRANK.  The agreement subjects the so-called Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created by the job-destroying Dodd-Frank law to yearly audits by both the private sector and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to monitor its impact on the economy, including its impact on jobs, by examining whether sound cost-benefit analyses are being used with rulemakings.  

That is not a bad beginning. I assume it is the best we could get.

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Boehner: We are going to stop Obamacare.

"This health care bill will ruin the best health care system in the world and will bankrupt our country."

"We are going to repeal Obamacare and replace it with common sense reforms that will bring down the cost of health insurance."

"Beyond repealing Obmacare we are going to do everything we can to stop this bill from being implemented."

Comment:

Damn, I'm glad we won!

I am expecting the Republicans to follow through. I expect a full-fledged effort to stop the implementation of Obamacare. Stopping it is not good enough, however. I expect Republicans to follow through on common sense reform to bring down the cost of health care.

Any Republican who goes wobbly on the effort to derail and repeal Obamacare and who does not work for common sense, market-oriented, patient-centered reform does not deserve to be reelected when running for reelection. I have high expectation of our Republican legislators. We should hold them to a high standard hold their feet to the fire.

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Boehner Blasts Censorship of Chart Detailing Democrats’ Government-Run Health Care Labyrinth

In a speech on the House floor this morning, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) blasted Democratic leaders efforts to censor a chart that illustrates the bureaucratic labyrinth of 53 new agencies, programs and commissions that would result for American health care with enactment of Washington Democrats proposed 1.6 trillion-dollar government takeover of health care. Democratic leaders have attempted to block Members of Congress from using the chart, produced by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) and the House Republican professional staff of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), in official communications with their constituents.

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The Economy has been rescured!

"We rescued the economy..." White House Chief of Staff Raul Emmanuel, New York Times, July 22, 2009 (link)

"I Don't Believe the Economy Has Been Rescued." House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

I was really excited today when I discovered that the economy had been rescued. I was looking forward to telling my clients who are about to lose their home and have lost their job that the crisis was over and that good times are here again. I knew the crisis was over because Raul Emmanuel, the President's Chief of Staff said the economy had been rescued. Then, John Boehner had to bring up some contradictory facts and ruin my day.

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“Eleven hundred pages, not one member of this body has read,”

GOP Leader Boehner Floor Speech Opposing Democrats' Trillion-Dollar Spending Bill

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Top 20 Facts About the House Democrats Trillion Dollor Stimulas Plan

Minority Leader John Boehner released a list of the Top 20 Fast Facts About the House Democrats' Trillion Dollar Spending Plan.

1. The $825 billion package slated for a House vote later this weekwill exceed more than $1.1 trillion when adding in the interest ($300plus billion) between 2009-2019 to pay for it.

2. The Capitol Hill Democrats' plan includes funding for contraceptives; regardless of where anyone stands on taxpayer funded contraception, there is no question that it has NOTHING to do with the economy.

3. The legislation could open billions of taxpayer dollars to left-wing groups like the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which has been accused of voter fraud, is reportedly under federal investigation; and played a key role in the housing meltdown.

4. Here are just a few of the programs and projects that have been included in the House Democrats' proposal:· $650 million for digital TV coupons.· $600 million for new cars for the federal government.· $6 billion for colleges/universiti es – many which have billion dollar endowments.· $50 million in funding for the National Endowment of the Arts.· $44 million for repairs to U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters.· $200 million for the National Mall, including $21 million for sod.

5. The plan establishes at least 32 new government programs at a costof over $136 billion. That means more than a third of this plan'sspending provisions are dedicated to creating new government programs.

6. The plan provides spending in at least 150 different federal programs, ranging from Amtrak to the Transportation SecurityAdministration. Is this the "targeted" plan Democratic leaders promised?

7. Even though the legislation contains at least 152 separate spending proposals, the authors of the plan can only say that 34 have anychance at keeping or growing jobs.

8. Just one in seven dollars of an $18.5 billion expenditure on"energy efficiency" and "renewable energy programs" would be spent within the next 18 months.

9. The total cost of this one piece of legislation is almost as much as the annual discretionary budget for the entire federal government.

10. The House Democrats' bill will cost each and every household $6,700 in additional debt, paid for by our children and grandchildren.

11. The bill provides enough spending – $825 billion – to give everyman, woman, and child in America $2,700. $825 billion is enough togive every person in Ohio $72,000.

12. $825 billion is enough to give every person living in poverty inthe United States $22,000.

13. Although the House Democrats' proposal has been billed as a transportation and infrastructure investment package, in actuality only $30 billion of the bill – or three percent – is for road and highway spending. A recent study from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that only 25 percent of infrastructure dollars can be spent in the first year, making the one year total less than $7billion.

14. Much of the funding within the House Democrats' proposal will go to programs that already have large, unexpended balances. For example,the bill provides $1 billion for Community Development Block Grants(CDBG) – a program that already has $16 billion on hand. States also are sitting on some $9 billion in unused highway funds – funds that Congress is prepared to rescind later this year.

15. All board members of the "Accountability and Transparency Board"created by this legislation are appointees of the President; none will be appointed by Congress.

16. A scant 2.7 percent, or $22.3 billion of the overall package, is dedicated to small business tax relief.

17. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the legislation increases by seven million the number of people who get a check backfrom the IRS that exceeds what they paid in payroll and income taxes.

18. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit at the center of the plan amounts to $1.37 a day, or about the price of a cup of coffee.

19. Almost one-third of the so-called "tax relief" in the HouseDemocrats' bill is spending in disguise, meaning that true tax relief makes up only 24 percent of the total package – not the 40 percentthat President Obama had requested.

20. $825 billion is just the beginning – many Capitol Hill Democratswant to spend even more taxpayer dollars on their "stimulus" plan. Infact, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. DavidObey (D-WI), told Roll Call earlier this month, "I would not besurprised to see us go further on some of these programs down the line."

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“This Was a Bipartisan Rejection of a Partisan Bill”

Press Release from The Office of House Republican Leader John Boehner

Washington, Jan 28 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after the House advanced a trillion dollar spending bill authored solely by congressional Democratic leaders:

“This was a bipartisan rejection of a partisan bill. Families and small businesses across America are struggling, and they are counting on their leaders in Washington for ways to strengthen our economy. House Republicans want to work with congressional Democrats on legislation that fulfills the goal set by President Obama: crafting a bipartisan plan focused on job creation. Unfortunately, the trillion dollar government spending bill before the House today was not that plan, and a bipartisan coalition of Members rightfully rejected it. It is time for Capitol Hill Democrats to finally work with Republicans on a job creation package that lets families and small businesses keep more of what they earn and that is supported by the bipartisan majority that the American people expect on an issue so important.”

NOTE: No House Republicans voted for the legislation, while eleven Democrats crossed party lines to vote against it. Earlier today on the House floor, Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Ways & Means Committee Ranking Republican Dave Camp (R-MI) offered a House GOP economic recovery plan that will create 6.2 million new American jobs over the next two years, according to a methodology used by President Obama’s own nominee as Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, Dr. Christina Romer. House Democrats rejected the plan.

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