Challenge to Boehner Symbolic... and a Sham!!!

Sunday January 4, 2015 Texas GOP Representative Louis Gohmert announced on Fox's Sunday Fox & Friends that he would challenge current Speaker of the House John Boehner for the House of Representatives top spot Tuesday January 6th. This comes on the heels of the Saturday January 3rd announcement by Florida GOP Representative Ted Yoho that he wanted the job. “We have heard from a lot of Republicans that said, ‘I would vote for somebody besides speaker Boehner.’ But nobody will put their name out there,” Gohmert said. “That changed yesterday with Ted Yoho.” I commend these gentlemen for stepping up, BUT where have you been the past 51/52 days?


On November 13, 2014 the Republican members for the 114th Congress met to select their leaders for the upcoming session. With the exception of Speaker of the House, members selected that day will automatically assume their respective position at the drop of the opening gavel. The Speaker must be elected by the entire House of Representatives. The speaker must receive an absolute majority of votes cast. On November 13th a voice vote was taken and the current House leaders were selected to continue in their position at the start of the new Congress. According to The Hill, Boehner was overwhelming selected to be the GOP nominee for the position of speaker with only one or two voice votes cast against him. To date the only member to publicly admit to voting against Boehner is Georgia Representative-elect Jody Hice.


It was widely speculated the day after the election that President Obama would announce that he was signing an executive order granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. I must ask Where was the most conservative members of Congress, (Gohmert, Yoho, Trey Gowdy (SC), Jeff Duncan (SC), Trent Franks (AZ), Matt Salmon (AZ), Jim Jordon (OH) Tim Huelskamp (KS), and others) to let Boehner know that his retention of Speaker would be subject to how he handled this executive order? Also on that November day it was known that a lame duck session was going to be held to approve the Omnibus spending bill and a Continuing Resolution to fund the government. This lame duck session could have been avoided had the September 17, 2014 Continuing Resolution (CR) been passed for funding another full year, as it ultimately was approved in December of 2014,  rather than 3 months as it was approved in September. Where were members of the House of Representative's Liberty Caucus, Tea Party Caucus, and Republican Study Committee in September of 2014 to tell those negotiating the CR that the polls look good and come January we will control the Congress? Where was their faith?


Had another candidate stepped up and declared intention to challenge Boehner earlier, the outcome of the Cromnibus vote may have been different. An earlier candidacy would have given American voters the time to mount a grassroots campaign of calling their respective representatives to voice their support for someone other than Boehner. It would have also given the contenders an opportunity to see who had the best chance of unseating The Speaker and allowed for them to unify behind one candidate. I think inadvertently Gowdy may have spilled the beans as to why no other conservative stepped up. Gowdy likes the position and the assignments that he has. While I believe the country is best served with Gowdy leading the Special Committee on the Benghazi Attack of September 11, 2012, as well as his other committee assignments, I believe that the fear of losing committee assignments for challenging Boehner deterred others from stepping up to the plate. It is that thought that disgusts me as I think many of the "principled conservatives" have put their own personal gain above the betterment of this country. Am I being critical of the Republican party? YES! Why? I hold the Republican Party to a higher standard. This is the Party that is supposed to represent the values that are GOOD about America! I hold the Democratic Party to no standards as today's Democrat Party has no standards.


The two specific issues addressed had conclusions and consequences that occurred after the November 4th election. That election has been referred to as a rejection of President Obama's agenda. While the Tea Party's brightest victory was the defeat of Eric Cantor, I look at the movement towards more conservative principles by most of the incumbents in the 2014 elections as a direct result of the Tea Party's influence. How quickly those principles were forgotten by November 13, 2014. When Indiana GOP Representative Marlin Stutzman claimed he was lied to by House Leadership during the Cromnibus debate, I couldn't help but think When you've work in a "den of thieves" since 2011, how can you not know that they all are thieves? In this case they have stolen the confidence of the American people that gave them one more chance to get it right.


I have focused on the House of Representatives, but the Senate is not any better. The concerns and criticisms that have plagued Boehner for the past 4 years can also be said of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The only difference is that McConnell has had 6 years to hide behind the fact of leading the minority party. When the GOP Senators gathered on November 13, 2014 they unanimously elected McConnell as the Majority Leader. I find it troubling that no "principled conservative" Senator stepped up to at least let him know he was on notice.


No election for Speaker of the House has gone past the first ballot since 1923. There is no reason to believe that this one will be any different. At the end of the day on Tuesday, The news will report that John Boehner was re-elected as the Speaker of the House. Gohmert and Yoho will be able to go home and tell their constituents that they stood tall against "the establishment". As many as 30 representatives will also report to their constituency that they didn't support the current direction of House Leadership.


It's the same old song and dance unless we take the opportunity in 2015 to stay involved and hold our elected Representatives and Senator's collective feet to the fire.

Primary Elections are for the Individual, General Elections are for the Cause

August 31st, 2014

by Charlie Stutesman
 

How many times have we heard people say, " I vote for the candidate, not for the party."
If the individual you supported won their primary election race, congratulations. If not, better luck next time. The focus going into November General Election has to be supporting the cause. The number one agenda has to be ensuring that the Republicans take control of the US Senate. A recent editorial in USAToday lays out the case for a strong Republican showing in the US Senate race as well as reasons why Republicans should maintain control of the US House of Representatives. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/10/house-republican-majority-2014/13585905/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories

 

The current Primary Election season has exposed the various factions within the Republican Party. The Democrat Party has the same issues with various factions but unlike the Republicans they have been able to stay somewhat unified over the past several election cycles. If unity is not achieved by November, the Republicans will once again struggle to win elections. Many races for US Senate and House became very personal and dirty during the primary season. The national media has had a field day making the "high-profile" races Tea Party vs. GOP Establishment. Let us not forget that Democrats, disgruntled Moderates (RINOs), and overall troublemakers were contributing and sending out mailers in some areas to support the candidate that had the best chance of losing to the Democrat candidate in the General Election.

 

There are several reasons why your candidate may have lost the primary election:

 

1.  Money-- LIGHT SHINING TRUTH- Money wins elections. Whether the contributions are made to the candidate directly or to soft money organizations, in most cases the candidate with the most money wins. Corporations, Trade Associations, Activist Groups, Wealthy Individuals, et al. figured this out long ago. As we see the voter turnout percentage stay in the 50% range the amount of special interest money will continue to grow. It is easy to manipulate a low-info voter using 30 second advertisements and news stories by a biased media.
2. The Candidate-- This is the hardest pill to swallow. In some of the races this year the challenger to an incumbent was not properly and thoroughly vetted. Something in the candidate's past came up during the campaign that slowed or in some cases halted the candidate's momentum. Another issue was the inability of a challenger to distinguish themselves on the issues from an incumbent or another challenger. I refer back to President Reagan's 80% rule: "The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally -- not a 20 percent traitor (var. "enemy")."  this is the toughest to overcome against an incumbent when the voters already have a known entity to select.
3. Turnout-- Light Shining Truth-- By the looks of voter turnout this primary season not many people are voting for the candidate. According to Washington Post blogger Hunter Schwarz as of July 23rd, voter turnout for the 2014 primaries is down 18% from 2010 midterms. Montana with 26.3% turnout leads the nation while Iowa with 9.7% turnout brings up the rear. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/07/23/voter-turnout-in-primary-elections-this-year-has-been-abysmal/.  With only 5 primaries left before the General Election, the turnout has averaged well below 25% in the already completed races. Even moving from aggregate turnout numbers to individual party numbers the turnout for party races average less than 30% in the best case scenario.
4. Message-- No matter what other factors are applied, the overall message of the losing candidates did not resonate with the voters. This is the hardest factor to analyze yet it is the easiest to see the result. In almost all of the "high-profile" races between a Tea Party challenger and a perceived Establishment Incumbent, The Incumbent's message moved to a more conservative position. This is also where true grassroots come into play. As you see the candidate on the campaign trail, back for town hall type meetings, or by placing calls to their office, respectfully let them know your position on an issue and hold them accountable for their vote.

How do we go forth for General Election?

 

The most important factor for a Republican Wave is Party Unity. The Primary Election is over, the outcome will not change, (my hunch is not even in Mississippi). Put any negative campaigning behind you. The cause is more important than hurt feelings. A unified effort also sends a message to the candidate that while he or she may have been opposed in Primary, the challengers supporters are willing to support them, but their voices are expected to be listened to as well. Party Unity also leads to fewer compromise votes. In the Fall of 2013 many of us felt that there was too much compromise during the Continuing Resolution debate and ultimate passage.  House Leadership worried more about the damage of the media and the different factions of the GOP than doing what was right in many citizen's opinions. A unified message from Republicans would have let Leadership know that We The People were more interested in what was right rather than what was easy. It would have also let the Senate know that debate didn't have to end, the cloture vote didn't have to pass and the CR could have been held up until a workable deal was hammered out.

The next obstacle for the Republicans to overcome is the Third Party Candidates. I am not opposed to Third Party Candidates, however I look at which candidates they pull votes from. Remember H. Ross Perot? Here was a candidate that shook up the 1992 Presidential Election by running as an Independent. Perot had some good ideas that were enough to sway many independent voters. for years it has been argued that Perot cost George H. W. Bush re-election. The one thing for sure that is clear is that Perot prevented a unified Republican Party to defeat Bill Clinton. Many believed in Perot to the point that The Reform Party was born and thought to be a real option to the two major parties. Within 10 years of formation, the Reform Party had imploded and now is just a shell of what many believed it would become. No Third Party organization has been able to maintain a consistent growth in recent history. The final point to make regarding Third Party candidates is; Who will they caucus with. In 2001 Senator Jim Jeffords (VT) switched from Republican to Independent turning a 50-50 split, with Republican Vice-President Dick Cheney casting any tie-breaking votes, in the US Senate to a 49 Republican-50 Democrat-1 Independent split. Jeffords agreed to caucus with the Democrats in exchange for being given the Chairmanship of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Even though Jeffords had 12 years of tenure in the US Senate as a Republican his moderate to liberal voting record kept him from any real power in the body. Making the deal with the Democrats gave Jeffords the chairmanship he coveted and allowed him some power in the Senate.

 LIGHT SHINING TRUTH: Conservative Republicans will support the party even when the conservative candidate doesn't make the ballot. Moderate Republicans will play the field looking for "best deal". The Fringe Republicans many times will not vote if their candidate doesn't make the General Election Ballot or they flock to a Third Party Candidate.

 

No matter the obstacles, the focus of this election has to be neutralizing Obama! Pick the scandal you want to address.

1. Is it Benghazi? The President seems to have been AWOL while American diplomats and service members were ignored in their cries for help. How many remember how Ronald Reagan handled Libya's attacks on Americans? 
2. Is it The IRS targeting conservatives? Watch this testimony by small business owner Catherine Engelbrecht when she dared to get involved in the political process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxcMKtsm5BU. 
3. Maybe it is Immigration? The Southern Border of the United States has bee seemingly opened to all who want to enter from Central America. Border patrol agents, Government facilities, and State resources just to name few have been utilized to facilitate this migration. Recent news stories like the one in the Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/articles/obamas-immigration-plans-irk-some-democrats-1409009756, show that Obama is planning to offer the immigrants amnesty via executive order.
4. Is it Obamacare? To date there have been 42 changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 24 of those changes have been made via Presidential Executive Order http://www.galen.org/newsletters/changes-to-obamacare-so-far/. Much that was due to be in effect by 2014 has been delayed by the Administration. Was this law really ready to be implemented or was it thrown together to ensure passage while the Democrats controlled all of Congress and the White House? Remember for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's telltale comment: " We have to pass the bill to find out what's in it."
5. How do you feel about Dictator Obama? In his 2014 State of the Union Speech, Obama declared that he didn't need Congressional approval for his plans. “We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation, or plans, or any logical idea of what will actually result  in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help I’ve decided they need,” Obama said  Jan. 14, “I’ve got a pen, I’ve got paper, scotch tape, a fax machine, a copier, a  phone, and a whole box of those binder clips.” -- President Barack Obama 2014 State of the Union Speech http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/31/president-obamas-2015-state-of-the-union-bigger-pens-badder-phones/ 
   While he hasn't signed the most executive orders in Presidential history, he seems to have signed the most that circumvent the role of the US Congress.
6. Has Obama weakened the United States' presence as a world power? On August 20, 2013 Obama declared a red- line to the Syrian Goverment's use of chemical weapons in their ongoing civil war. On September 4th he claimed that it wasn't his red line but rather the World's and Congress's red-line. http://www.factcheck.org/2013/09/obamas-blurry-red-line/. In the weeks that followed, Russian President Vladamir Putin took a page out of President Reagan and President John F. Kennedy's playbook and called Obama's bluff. Whether Putin and Russia had the capability to defend the Syrian government from an attack by the US will never be known because Obama backed down. The absence of a true sign of strength allowed Putin and the Russian Federation to invade and annex the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine. While not completely settled the lack of real force or sanctions by the US, EU, and UN gives no indication that the Crimean Peninsula will ever be not be controlled by the Russian Federation.

These are just a few of the reasons why Obama must be neutralized. The almost 6 years of the administration has been plagued by scandal and far over reaching authority. Peter Andrew has listed 2410 of them in a series of commentaries for ConservativeAmerican.org. http://conservativeamerican.org/the-new-obama-scandals-list/. The likelihood that Obama will leave office, either voluntarily or involuntarily, is slim at best. The only way to control his agenda is for Republicans to control both bodies of Congress.

 

The Final Obstacle is Voting. This is the simplest obstacle to overcome yet it is the most widely overlooked. Turnout In the 2012 National Election, voter turnout was 58.2% of voting eligible population nationally ranging from 75.7% in Minnesota to 44.2% in Hawaii according to report released by George Mason University. http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2012G.html. George Mason University has also compiled a table of voter turnout for all federal elections since 2010 http://elections.gmu.edu/voter_turnout.htm. Mid term elections since 2010 have averaged around 40%. In order to see real reform in Washington, we have to vote.

• We as a nation are very complacent about the 50 to 60% voter turnout in presidential elections and 40% turnout in mid-term elections. As watch news of elections throughout the world, we see individuals willing to take beatings or die for the chance to vote. Voter apathy is a major component in the dysfunction of Washington DC that we see today.
• Thought to ponder, when you are in a room with 9 friends on average only 5 or 6 in the group voted, are the other 4 or 5 silent on the performance of elected officials?

Voting also means taking care of your local races. Don't get so caught up in the national hype about other candidates and officeholders that you leave your own candidate vulnerable to defeat. For instance, I can't very well influence Speaker John Boehner's reelection in the 8th district of Ohio when I am a registered voter and resident of the 2nd district of Kansas. I have to ensure Lynn Jenkins gets re-elected, then I can voice my opinion on who I believe would make the best Speaker of the House. While social media, coffee shops, water coolers make, etc. make great venues to "solve" all that is wrong with DC, the only place that really matters is your own voting location.

Kansas Senator Pat Roberts told the delegates at a meeting of the Kansas Republican Party, "2014 has been called the most important election of our lifetime. Well folks, we have gone way past important, this is the most critical election in history." I couldn't agree more. It is time to stop the internal sniping within the Republican Party. Republicans are not our foes, Democrats and those that support the Obama Agenda are. Once again, if your candidate did not win their primary, lick your wounds and lets go forward. The cause is what matters now!