Mo' Money, Mo' Money, Mo' Money! How Boehner Kept Control

The below article from Open Secrets will shed some light on soon to be former Speaker John Boehner and how he was able to maintain support within Congress and the Republican Party. 

Most of all you will see the Speaker position is rarely about "conservatism."  Right or wrong, a Speaker position is more about being able to hold together a coalition of supporters than it is spreading or doing conservative things. 

Boehner was able to hold the his coalition of supporters together through years of building a huge fundraising machine and political patronage. Much of this fundraising and patronage was at the expense of conservative voters.

From Open Secrets -- (Emphasis Added)

Whatever else is said about him, you can’t say he didn’t share.

Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) raised $97 million for his House campaigns and leadership PAC from the time he received his first donations in 1989, Center for Responsive Politics data shows — far more than any other sitting House member. Only Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) have raised more in their careers, and both of them have been presidential candidates.

But the soon-to-be-former speaker’s political money profile depicts a party leader trying to raise most Republican boats with his fundraising tide. No current lawmaker, House or Senate, has given away more money to the party and its congressional candidates, a total of $41.1 million from his campaign committees and PAC — nearly double the gifts of the No. 2 on that list, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Where’d all the loot come from? Boehner received contributions from every state in the country. Even when facing an opponent in name only in 2012 — one who spent no money against him — the speaker laid out $21 million that cycle. But he gave most of it — nearly $12 million — to the National Republican Congressional Committee. In 2014, Boehner gave $8.3 million to the NRCC from his campaign account.

Still, Boehner’s power to direct traffic in Congress made him highly popular in the Washington, D.C. metro area in every election since he assumed the post. Boehner’s Washington fundraising totals jumped from $252,555 in 2010, the year his party took over the House, to $805,481 in 2012 and $707,292 in 2014. In fact, almost five years as speaker were enough to make Washington and its environs Boehner’s all-time top metro area for fundraising at $2.5 million — edging out the $2.4 million he received from the Cincinnati area back in his home state.

Washington’s desire to shower leaders with cash may make for a kind of catch-22 for politicians who need money for the party, not just themselves, yet have to corral members for votes amid an anti-establishment revolt among Republicans. The geography of Boehner’s contributions mirrors more conservative lawmakers’ critiques of the speaker as a Republican too comfortable with Washington’s political culture.

Similar reproaches launched by a relatively unknown outsider helped oust Boehner’s former second-in-command, former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, in 2014. Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), who beat Cantor in part by pillorying him for being too cozy with the Washington money machine, is now a member of the House Freedom Caucus, the far-right wing trying to pull Republican leadership in their direction.

Perhaps like Boehner, Cantor’s generosity with the money he raised couldn’t overcome the criticism: Only Cantor’s PAC gave away more to fellow Republicans than Boehner’s leadership PAC in 2014. Of the 25 lawmakers who voted against Boehner for speaker earlier this year, 19 had received money from Boehner’s leadership PAC.

 

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is the name most frequently mentioned as a possible successor to Boehner, and the outgoing speaker game McCarthy his blessing today. But McCarthy may well not be radically right enough for the Freedom Caucus. The top 10 donor industries to both men look remarkably similar; in fact, they share seven in common: securities & investment (aka Wall Street), insurance, real estate , oil & gas, lawyers & law firms, electric utilities and health professionals.

 

The GOP Final Four?

 

The Washington Times goes through some of the candidates and rates the Final Four. Do you agree or disagree?  Who are your Final Four?

 

From The Washington Times -- 

NEWS ANALYSIS:

With the Governors Club members Scott Walker and Rick Perry gone, the bloated Republican presidential field is showing the inevitable signs of radical shrinkage by year's end, with donors' reluctance to bet on long shots.

A few more debates and some bad fundraising reports this fall almost certainly will winnow the field, veteran observers say.

"A number of candidates are having a hard time raising sufficient hard cash," said former New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Steve Duprey, a member of the Republican National Committee's governing body.

"I don't see any of them following Walker and Rick Perry out of the race at this moment. But after a couple more debates, it's entirely possible by year's end more candidates will be forced to suspend their campaigns," he said.

Added former Reagan White House official Mary Ann Meloy, a conservative activist from Pennsylvania: "It won't surprise me if the field narrows to five or six or even four by the end of this year — it's the money, or the lack of it, that will force so many out."

The expectation that fundraising organizations would help keep what was once a field of 17 Republican candidates in the race for a long time was dispelled when Mr. Walker abruptly dropped out despite having a healthy super PAC behind him.

With the reality setting in that even the 15-candidate field is unsustainable, Republicans are beginning to contemplate what the Final Four might look like.

Here is a handicapping of who is up and down, and who might not be around by spring.

IN TROUBLE

Bobby Jindal

He can talk policy with the best of conservatives and has an impressive record in Louisiana, but Mr. Jindal just doesn't seem to resonate as presidential material with rank-and-file primary voters. His parents are immigrants from India who retain their Hindu religion even though their son, the governor, became an evangelical Catholic in high school. He has always been a favorite of Republicans looking for someone who is smart, accomplished and conservative and reflects the diversity of America. But the only thing electric about him as a speaker is the microphone he's holding.

"Why he's not getting traction, honestly I don't know," said Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere. "He's kept taxes from rising, defunded Planned Parenthood in this state, changed ethics rules for the better, brought new businesses into Louisiana, led the nation on school choice — and on charter schools."

Mr. Jindal seems stuck in low gear, registering no better than 4 percent in early-states polling.

Rand Paul

The latest fall for the senator from Kentucky was a big one. Ed Crane, a founder of the libertarian Cato Institute and of a super PAC backing Mr. Paul's candidacy, has announced that he won't ask major donors for more money because he can't justify the appeal on behalf of a man whose commitments to a freedom-first, noninterventionist agenda he no longer trusts.

Time magazine once named Mr. Paul the most interesting man in politics. He went to Israel a few years ago to assure Israelis and their supporters in the United States that he wasn't to be feared as a presidential contender. A straw poll winner for three years straight at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr. Paul, 52, was an early favorite, but the endorsement of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a fellow Kentucky Republican, has cost him dearly with many rank-and-file conservatives. His back-and-forth stands in an attempt to sound less doctrinaire than his libertarian father, former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, and his lack of personal warmth have pushed his support into the single digits. Fundraising bumps and an inner-circle gaps only add to his campaign's woes.

Supporters have seen him waffle on some basics of libertarian conservatism. He told the Detroit Economics Club that he favors county-sized enterprise zones with tax breaks that direct capital to some businesses and away from others. He proposed what he styled as a flat, single-rate tax that turned out to be a single rate for individual incomes but a value-added tax for businesses, even though many on the right despise VATs as concealed licenses to raise taxes.

Mr. Paul, banking on the support of younger voters, is the only candidate prodigiously mining high schools and colleges for February's first-in-the-nation contest in Iowa.

He has registered 4 percent in a recent Iowa poll, but supporters prefer to think it is actually 8 percent because surveys don't normally sample people too young to be on voter registration lists.

Mike Huckabee

Polling in the early states in the middle to low single digits, the 60-year-old Mr. Huckabee has done it all before, having been a popular Arkansas governor, a Fox TV show host, a Baptist preacher, a winner of the 2008 Iowa presidential preference caucuses, a second-place finisher in the delegate count behind John McCain and a third-place finisher behind Mitt Romney in the popular vote. Some conservatives in past years labeled him soft on crime — as governor, he pardoned some convicted murderers — and soft on spending and tax restraint. He was the favorite of many evangelical conservatives for years, but they are dividing their vote this cycle mainly among Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz. Some are staying with former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Mr. Paul and almost everyone else running.

George Pataki

As New York governor, Mr. Pataki, 70, never made a big splash. He has not held an elected office for almost a decade and has not made it on the radar screens of voters outside New York. His is not a name that falls readily from the lips of any conservatives anywhere in the U.S.

He can give a good, coherent speech but rarely generates sparks. He has barely registered in any polls anywhere. His popularity extends mainly to his family and friends.

Rick Santorum

At 57, Mr. Santorum has won a few races, getting elected to the House and then to two terms in the Senate from Pennsylvania. He finished second to Mitt Romney in the 2012 Republican presidential nomination contest and established himself as a full-menu religious conservative. He has barely registered in Iowa polls — though he won the caucuses four years ago — and he's been virtually invisible in New Hampshire polls. He has competence and tenacity without dazzle on the stump. His shelf life for the race is considered somewhere between short and expired.

Lindsey Graham

A talented, knowledgeable hawk and superinterventionist, the 60-year-old senior senator from South Carolina is in the low-to-zero portion of the single-digit poll range in the early primary states. He got no lift out of his sharp-witted, entertaining performance in the undercard debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Sept. 16.

He has no political base to speak of and will make an undoubtedly graceful exit soon enough.

Jim Gilmore

Mr. Gilmore, 65, has more resume than performance to his credit and is polling below 1 percent in the early states. This is his second time around the GOP presidential nomination track. He's not showing signs of improvement. More than intellectually competent in any debate on foreign policy, terrorism (he headed a presidential commission on the subject) and constitutionally protected freedoms, he conveys the gravitas but not the magnetism of a serious presidential contender.

ON THE BUBBLE

Jeb Bush

At 62, the former Florida governor has something of a Scott Walker problem — he isn't turning out to look and talk like what voters remember when he was in Tallahassee and was thought to be the smartest of the Bush boys. Surprised and disappointed Republicans were saying similar things about Mr. Walker when he quit the contest Sept. 21.

Mr. Bush's wake-me-when-it's-my-turn performances on the debate stage and campaign stump and his massive campaign bureaucracy could sink this onetime favorite, but anyone who can raise more than $140 million can't be counted out yet.

Despite Mr. Bush's failing aspiration to be the Energizer Bunny, he has a huge advantage besides money. Two generations of voters will go to the polls in November 2016 having lived under at least one president named Bush. Having a third Bush at the nation's helm will seem only natural and even comforting to many of them.

Rumors have it that even with all that advantage, Mr. Bush faces pressure to start producing in the polls lest major donors start looking elsewhere.

He has had a surprisingly difficult time deciding whether he wants to separate himself from his brother's eight-year presidency and, if so, by how much. His latest take on all this is that the oceans of blood and trillions of dollars expended for the Iraq War were wrong not because regime change unleashed the bloodthirsty sectarianism now threatening the world but because there were no weapons of mass destruction buried in Baghdad bunkers after all. Regime changes in Iraq and Afghanistan may have been unwise in retrospect, but, Mr. Bush notes, his brother did keep America safe.

John Kasich
Mr. Kasich, 63, was a House Budget Committee chairman who managed to bring smiles to liberals, moderates and conservatives. He supported President Clinton's 1995 assault weapons ban that liberals and some moderates loved. He introduced a genuine welfare reform bill that Mr. Clinton finally signed that had moderates and conservatives beaming. In 1997, he made his biggest splash nationally as what he called the "architect" of a deal with Mr. Clinton that balanced the federal budget for the first time since 1969.

Though unpredictably prickly at times, Mr. Kasich is far more popular in Ohio than tough-guy Gov. Chris Christie is in New Jersey or than the union-slaying but sleepy-eyed Mr. Walker is in Wisconsin. Who cares? Ohio has been a make-or-break state in the general election. Conservatives are somewhere between skeptical and downright hostile to Mr. Kasich for stances such as support for Common Core education standards and agreeing to sales, cigarette and fracking taxes. His temper makes even those tempted to consider him as a vice presidential nominee worry that instead of bringing Ohio to the Republican Party, he would manage tick off enough leaners to sink the ticket in a close general election. He is averaging under 3 percent in Iowa and New Hampshire polls and under 4 percent in South Carolina.

Ted Cruz

Some people say that if you close your eyes and listen, Mr. Cruz, 44, sounds a bit like Ronald Reagan. But with eyes wide open, the senator from Texas seems too caustic and finger-waggingly preachy to be a Reagan replica. Glaringly missing is that all-important Reagan likability factor.

Mr. Cruz has gone to the mat for conservative principles since his arrival in the Senate in 2013. He has been able to do much of what Donald Trump so far can only promise to do. Yet Mr. Trump got instant traction while Mr. Cruz has been stuck in the middle-single-digit range in national polls. But Mr. Cruz has raised more money than most of his rivals. He knows the issues better than almost all of his rivals. Mr. Cruz takes on the fights over principle, but he doesn't win. He hasn't shown himself the successful dealmaker in legislating that The Donald has shown himself to be in business.

Apples and oranges? Yes. Who said life's fair?

Chris Christie

Now 53, the former state's attorney was for a few years a favorite of some conservatives and many middle-of-the-roaders for his pugilistic directness in speech and nose-punching in action toward teachers unions as governor of blue-state New Jersey. But his office's ham-fisted retaliation against a Democratic mayor who failed to endorse Mr. Christie for re-election turned off a lot of his fellow Republicans and further convinced movement conservatives that he wasn't one of them.

His ceiling in polls in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina has been 3 percent. As a presidential aspirant, he seems to have gravitas but more from build than presence. That leaves a lot of hill-climbing for Mr. Christie to do quickly before donors stop huffing and puffing with him.

THE PROJECTED FINAL FOUR

Donald Trump

The Great Deal Maker, 69, is included in the Final Four for all the unconventional reasons. He successfully defies conventional wisdom about who may run — and how — for the top office in the major leagues of politics. He started out with the name recognition of a big-time entertainer. He talks with supremely self-confident disjointedness and occasional non sequiturs that hit his more-scripted candidates just right.

He also has more money to spend in the expensive media markets of the biggest states than all the other candidates and their super PACs combined.

Mr. Trump is the toughest, most forthright candidate in the field on dealing with the millions of illegal immigrants in the United States and on virtually sealing the southwestern border. What makes him the weakest of the projected Final Four is the tarnishing of his image. He began what a few analysts thought would be a downward slide to oblivion when he apologized on the Reagan Library stage to Carly Fiorina for remarks critical of her looks.

On what he calls the "stupidity" of launching a war to remove Saddam Hussein in Iraq, his arguments are at least as firmly enunciated as those of Mr. Paul. The most-feared billionaire turned nonpolitician politician in America, Mr. Trump — even interviewers and news anchors revealingly use the honorific in front of his name — has begun talking more diplomatically in general, sounding to some perked-up ears like the scripted pol he had successfully ranted against.

But the latest polls suggest those who think the wheels have come off the Trumpmobile might want to think again.

Ben Carson
In the year of the anti-politician, a likable former pediatric neurosurgeon who can raise boatloads of money is likely to stick around, even if his policy pitches sound inexperienced and his stage presence at times seems sheepish alongside bigger personalities.

His popularity stems from his obvious intelligence and his ability to learn the crux of campaign issues quickly — but not thoroughly. He is new to the politics craft in a way Donald Trump is not. Mr. Trump dealt all his life with politicians — "buying" them and their favors as he puts it. Until recently, Mr. Carson has stuck to his Bible and to performing near miracles surgically on infant patients. He has disappointed some of his enthusiasts by retreating from or clarifying the clarification of a few of his more contested statements, including his disapproval of a Muslim as president.

A sizable number of the estimated 90 million or more evangelical Christians are predisposed to reject Mr. Carson because they see his Seventh-day Adventist faith as marginally Christian at best and a cult at worst. This is similar to the negative predisposition some evangelicals had toward former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012 for his adherence to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints.

Carly Fiorina

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO, the most fluent and fluid of stump speakers in the Republican field, got the mother of all bounces in the Reagan Library debate by rocketing from low single digits to 15 percent in the CNN postdebate poll. That put her second only to Mr. Trump's 24 percent score.

Ms. Fiorina has been talked about in the press and in political circles as likely to run circles around most of her rivals, including, eventually, The Donald. Though still in the low double digits to high single digits in Iowa and New Hampshire polling, she is expected to climb well into the double digits after the third Republican debate.

Commentators in both parties say she has already shown she has the right stuff when it come to intellect and style. Ms. Fiorina, 61, answers all questions without a pause, in complete, grammatically perfect sentences that contain facts and nuance.

A millionaire but far from a billionaire, she has kept her expenses to a minimum, with a staff of only about 20, though she is ramping up staff and spending now that she is in the top tier of the field.

Her sometimes stern, serious countenance and Iron Lady composure make her a potential American Margaret Thatcher, which many Republicans and independents say would fulfill their dreams that this nation finally elects a woman who can make it great again.

Marco Rubio

Mr. Rubio, 44, has lots going for him. He could satisfy the yearning of the Republican Party to attract the make-or-break Hispanic vote. He has never been shy about reminding audiences that his parents immigrated from Cuba.

(OK, Mexico might have been more electorally useful, but a pol's parentage is what it is, and Mr. Rubio does speak Spanish.) Polls and focus groups are showing that he brings out the motherliness in female voters — a big, unalloyed plus. He talks like a man possessed of more than just a passing acquaintance with the issues that trouble America. But some think he sounds scripted, especially when he is teleprompting his wisdom and insights.

For all his youth and attractiveness, the senator from Florida is still polling in the middle single digits among likely Republican voters in early-state caucuses and primaries, and there are some vulnerabilities in his record.

"If he starts to gain traction, rivals will attack him over his misuse of that state GOP-issued American Express card when he was Florida House speaker," said former Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen.

"He used the card many times for personal expenses instead of just party purposes and not just the one time he claimed," Mr. Pullen said, nothing that former Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer went to the slammer for credit-card-related hanky-panky.

Ohio Moves One Step Closer to Health Care Freedom: Health Care Compact

 

For Immediate Release 

Oct. 1, 2015

 

Contact: Diana Price

Clevelandteaparty@gmail.com

 

 

Ohio Moves One Step Closer

to True Health Care Freedom

Ohio - In passing the Health Care Compact ( HB 34) on Sept. 29, 2015,  the Ohio House took the initial steps to place the State of Ohio on a path to true health care freedom. In a 61-31 vote (7 not voting), the Ohio House set in motion the process of becoming a member state of the Health Care Compact.

 

The Health Care Compact would give member states the legislative and fiscal freedom to make health care truly reflective of the health care needs of their state and not a costly one-size-fits-all federal health care program (Affordable Care Act) that has proven to be a failure.

 

“For years, we have heard the complaints about the ACA. We have also seen attempt after attempt to repeal the ACA, but with no back-up plan. Ohio, along with several other states, has taken the lead to find a suitable replacement for the federal control of our healthcare system,” noted bill co-sponsor Rep. Wes Retherford (OH-51).

 

"By returning these dollars to the states, we can start working on state-by-state reforms that best serve our constituents. Ohioans are demanding actions, not just words, and today the Ohio House took that step,” Retherford said after the vote.

"Because it provides true health care freedom and allows Ohioans to break free from the freedom-sapping chains of Obamacare, the Health Care Compact is the only constitutional avenue for citizens to have a voice in their own health care decisions,” stated Tea Party Patriots State Coordinator Ralph King.

"Sponsors Rep. Wes Retherford (OH-51) & Rep. Terry Boose (OH-57), the many co-sponsors, Speaker Rosenberger, & all the Ohio House members voting in support of it should be applauded for using every constitutional means available to put what is best for Ohio first."

"Nine other states have already passed the Health Care Compact," King continued, “and we are looking forward to the Ohio Senate making Ohio the 10th state."

-- # --

Health Care Compact (HB 34) Passes Ohio House

Moving Ohio one step closer to finally achieving true health care freedom, the Ohio House passed the Health Care Compact (HB 34) earlier today.

From Rep. Wes Retherford & Rep Terry Boose -- 

For Immediate Release:

September 30, 2015

Ohio House Passes Health Care Compact

Legislation gives Ohio more freedom over its healthcare policies

COLUMBUS—During today’s session, the Ohio House of Representatives passed legislation that, with approval from Congress, would give Ohio more freedom and flexibility over its healthcare policies.

House Bill 34, sponsored by Rep. Retherford and Rep. Boose, ratifies the Health Care Compact., through which Ohio would enter a multi-state contract that would secure more rights to the states for healthcare policy decisions. The measure is a response to rising costs and deficits, as well as the increased federal overreach into health care. If signed into law by Governor Kasich and approved by the US Congress, the Compact allows Ohio to suspend the operation of all federal laws and regulations that are inconsistent with Ohio laws adopted through the Compact. Should Congress approve the Compact, however, it would still be up to the state legislature whether to change Ohio’s healthcare policy, as well as what those specific changes would be.

Under the legislation, Ohio would receive federal funding to support health coverage each fiscal year. The amount of funding would be determined based on the estimated level of federal funding used for health care, which would be updated periodically based on population and inflation.

“For years, we have heard the complaints about the ACA. We have also seen attempt after attempt to repeal the ACA, but with no back up plan. Ohio, along with several other states, have taken the lead on finding a suitable replacement to the Federal control of our healthcare system. By returning these dollars to the states, we can start working on state by state reform that will best serve our constituents. I want to thank my colleagues in supporting my efforts to find a solution to our Healthcare crisis. Ohioans are demanding actions, not just words, and today the Ohio House took that step.” – Retherford said.

The Health Care Compact included a set of core principles, inspired by the goals of personal freedom and federalism. The principles include:

• The separation of powers, both between the branches of the federal government and between federal and state authority, is essential to the preservation of individual liberty.
• The Constitution creates a federal government of limited and enumerated powers, and reserves to the states or to the people those powers not granted to the federal government.
• The member states seek to protect individual liberty and personal control over healthcare decisions, and believe the best method to achieve these ends is by vesting regulatory authority over health care in the states

House Bill 34 now goes to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.

-30-

For more information, contact Adam Landefeld in Rep. Boose’s office at (614) 466-9628 or Adam.Landefeld@ohiohouse.gov; or Nicholas Stallard in Rep. Retherford’s office at (614) 644-6721 or Nicholas.Stallard@ohiohouse.gov.

 

UPDATE: Health Care Compact (HB 34)

Update

 Health Care Compact (HB 34) 

   

This Wednesday 9/30/2015 (tomorrow) coming back from their summer break, the Ohio House will be going back in session. 

While they still have a lot of business to address, it is important we continue our push for true health care freedom in Ohio with the Health Care Compact  (HB 34). 

At the federal level, the Health Care Compact (H.J. Res. 50) is picking up more conservative support with Ohio's own Congressman Jim Jordan signing on as a co-sponsor. 

Congressman Jordan was also pleased to hear & strongly supports Ohio's effort to become a member state of the Health Care Compact.

Please take a few minutes to contact your Ohio State Representative and respectfully request that they support the Health Care Compact (HB 34) and put Ohioans in charge of their own health care destiny.

Cuyahoga County Area GOP State Reps:

Rep Mike Dovilla

Phone: (614)466-4895

Contact: Click Here 

Rep. Nan Baker

Phone: (614)466-0961

Contact: Click Here 

Rep Marlene Anielski

Phone: (614)644-6041

Contact: Click Here 

Please call your OH House member and tell them to support the Health Care Compact - Click for OH House Directory.

# # #

John Boehner's resignation; Mitch McConnell next

Photo credit: thepeople'sview.net

From Ohio Tea Party Patriots Coordinator, Ralph King:

As many of you know Speaker John Boehner is resigning.  Make no mistake:  Speaker Boehner is resigning because of your hard work!

Here at Tea Party Patriots, we could not be more proud of this accomplishment. And as a Tea Party Patriots supporter, you should feel proud, too!

Tea Party Patriots were the first grassroots organization in the country to call for John Boehner's firing all the way back in 2012.

I remember the initials call(s) in late 2011 when fellow Tea Party Patriots State Coordinator for Ohio, Marianne Gasiecki and I (Ralph King) spoke with Jenny Beth Martin about starting the effort of getting rid Speaker Boehner.

With your help, we bombarded Congress with petitions calling for his ouster gathered through our #FireTheSpeaker campaign. We pressured members of Congress and we hounded him in the press.

Replacing Speaker Boehner is going to be very fluid and the selection process is very inside politics with many different scenarios.

  

Without getting caught up in all the scenarios at this time, we want to focus on what we can do immediately to make a difference in the selection process.  This first part is critical:

First - please contact the GOP members of Congress and share your feelings with them on what you are looking for in the next Speaker.  

For contact information click here 

.

Second - continuing the efforts used to force Speaker Boehner to resign - we will now turn these efforts towards Mitch McConnell!

Click here to add your name to the petition calling for Mitch McConnell to step down as the Majority Leader of the US Senate.

# # #

Lunar eclipse tonight

From the NASA website:

For the first time in more than 30 years, you can witness a supermoon in combination with a lunar eclipse. Late on Sept. 27, 2015, in the U.S. and much of the world, a total lunar eclipse will mask the moon’s larger-than-life face.

Unfortunately for Cleveland Tea Party Patriots, local cloud cover will likely make it difficult to see, much less photograph the blood moon. Fortunately, you can watch the live stream of the event at NASA’s website here from 8pm to 11:30. Probably the best part will start around 10:10, when the eclipse begins. 

UPDATE: 9/28: I had trouble with the links above; they were probably sluggish with heavy traffic, and the NASA stream kept interrupting with interviews. Morning after - here are great photos, as is usually the case at the UK Daily Mail here. 

# # #

Where’s the 2016 budget?

One trillion dollars in $100 bills on a football field with a 747 in the back.

Credit: Demonocracy

The U.S. government has not passed a budget since Pres. George W left office. Yet today, the GOP holds majorities in both the House and Senate. From Conservative Treehouse:

The fiscal year starts next week. Where’s the 2016 budget?

Boehner and McConnell control both houses. Where’s the budget?

It’s worse than you think. Read the whole thing here.

# # #

Report cards on immigration

Photo credit: www.wnd.com

Ever since Donald Trump announced his candidacy and identified illegal immigration as a major issue, the media – and other candidates – have been forced to address the problem. So far, most of the candidates, whether running as Democrats or Republicans, are given a pretty poor grade for their positions over at NumbersUSA here. Most patriots who are closely following the campaigns so far may be surprised at the low ratings for, e.g., Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, and John Kasich.

Stay tuned. 

# # # 

Drunkblogging the GOP debate

For those of you who don't want to watch the 2nd GOP debate, there's always an alternative. Stephen Green, Mr. Vodkapundit, is Drunkblogging the event at PJ Media. 

# # #

From Conservative Treehouse in commemoration of9/11:

Editorial from a Romanian newspaper by Cornel Nistorescu

Why are Americans so united? They don’t resemble one another even if you paint them! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are nearly extinct, others are incompatible with one another, and in matters of religious beliefs, not even God can count how many they are.

Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed on the streets nearby to gape about.

The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised the flag on the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colours of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a minister or the president was passing. On every occasion they started singing their traditional song: “God Bless America!”.

Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast on Saturday once, twice, three times, on different tv channels. There were Clint Eastwood, Willie Nelson, Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts, Cassius Clay, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Silvester Stalone, James Wood, and many others whom no film or producers could ever bring together. The American’s solidarity spirit turned them into a choir. Actually, choir is not the word. What you could hear was the heavy artillery of the American soul. What neither George W. Bush, nor Bill Clinton, nor Colin Powell could say without facing the risk of stumbling over words and sounds, was being heard in a great and unmistakable way in this charity concert.

I don’t know how it happened that all this obsessive singing of America didn’t sound croaky, nationalist, or ostentatious! It made you green with envy because you weren’t able to sing for your country without running the risk of being considered chauvinist, ridiculous, or suspected of who-knows-what mean interests. I watched the live broadcast and the rerun of its rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who fought with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that would have killed other hundreds of thousands of people.

How on earth were they able to bow before a fellow human? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit which nothing can buy.

What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases which risk of sounding like commonplaces. I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion.

Only freedom can work such miracles!

# # #

Keep Up the Fight to Stop the Iran Deal!

The Stop the Iran Deal Rally a huge success! We had a wonderful turnout. Your donations and hard work made this event possible, and we cannot thank you enough!  

If you were unable to make the event, here is a link to watch the whole event on line - click here.

 

Now is the time to increase the pressure and build on the momentum of yesterday’s event.  Today we need you to make 4 calls to Congress and turn up the pressure on social media.

 

1. Call Senator Lindsey Graham at 202.224.5972 and also contact him via Facebook & Twitter.

 Thank Sen. Graham for acknowledging that the Corker-Cardin Iran Nuclear Agreement Approval Act is not being followed, and ask him to encourage Senate Republican Leadership to stand up to President Obama. President Obama wants to rush this process, but the clock has not started ticking yet. It is up to the GOP leadership to put the brakes on this!

 

2. Call Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at 202.224.2541 & contact him via Facebook & Twitter.

 

Tell Sen. McConnell that the Corker-Cardin Iran Nuclear Agreement Approval Act is not being followed and demand that the Senate stand up to President Obama. The Senate must tell President Obama that the clock has not yet started ticking because the President has not given all the side deals to Congress. Americans overwhelmingly oppose this deal (60% of Americans want it stopped). The risks of not standing up are too great. Iran will be able to fund even more terrorist activities once the sanctioned money (billions of dollars!) is released to Iran. 

 

3. Call Senator Bob Corker at 202.224.3344 and also contact him via Facebook and Twitter.

 

The message for Sen. Corker is the same as the message for Sen. McConnell (above).

 

4. Call your congressman (click here) and also tweet and comment on Facebook. 

 

Ask your congressman to vote yes on Pompeo-Zeldin resolution, to vote no on approving the Iran Deal, and to vote yes to prohibit President Obama from lifting the sanctioned money.  

 

 

Thank you again for your support for yesterday's rally. And thank you for making these calls today. It is impossible for us to convey just how important these calls are, and they really do make a difference! We regularly hear from Congressional offices that their phones were ringing off the hook because of Tea Party Patriots’ calls.

Let’s make sure they hear from us today!

Stop the Iran “deal” rally report from Sept. 9 in DC

Donald Trump posing for a photo with Capitol Police at the rally on Weds. 

Photo credit: Roll Call

Some reports, photos, and videos of the "Stop the Iran "deal" rally yesterday (Weds.) are here (yahoo), here (CNN), and here (Roll Call).

As Rep. Gohmert said toward the end of the rally, the latest development, that GOP leadership was scrapping the vote on the rule, was a sign that the rally was effective. 

PJ Media reports: Conservative Revolt Forces GOP to Delay Iran Vote, Alter Strategy. Let’s hope it’s not just for show. But paving the way for a future lawsuit against the White House does not inspire confidence. Check out some of the reader comments over at Lucianne.

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GOP leadership fail

art credit: Timeline Photos

Ed Straker at American Thinker asks:

If John Boehner can face a no-confidence vote, why can't Mitch McConnell?

It's looking bad for John Boehner, who may be forced out of the speakership due to his cooperation with the Obama agenda.  But what about Mitch McConnell? He has been at least as complicit as Boehner. McConnell has given Obama:

1) 100% of his budget requests.

2) Fully funding Obamacare without any restraints

3) Fully funding Obama's illegal amnesty without any restraints

4) Raised the debt ceilings repeatedly without any restraints

5) Effectively given away the Senate's treaty deciding powers.

6) Refused to set up select committees to investigate the abuse of powers of this administration

 . . .

With two probable votes against McConnell (Cruz and Lee) and pressure on the others, McConnell might be toppled too. The sad fact is that most GOP senators agree with the McConnell agenda, but the spotlight on Senate presidential candidates and/or the threat of primaries for those up for reelection in 2016 could be enough to rid us of this supine gobbler. 

Read the rest here.

AT contributor Thomas Lifson adds: You can't replace something with nothing. I don't see who would replace him that would be any better.

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Cruz, Trump, Palin, Levin, and Beck at DC rally tomorrow: Stop the Iran “Deal”

art credit: TeaPartyPatriots.org

Cruz, Trump, Palin, Levin, and Beck at DC rally : 

Stop the Iran “Deal”

Update from Tea Party Patriots: 

By now you are no doubt aware that President Obama unilaterally joined into an agreement with Iran. You have probably read how dangerous this deal is and how this deal would give Iran the ability to build a nuclear bomb within the next decade. And you have probably heard that a growing number of American voters, Members of Congress, and national organizations are coming out in opposition to this deal.

But did you know that we have one final opportunity to stop this terrible Iran Nuclear Deal?

Thousands of Americans are coming to Washington, D.C. [today 9/9] for a rally in opposition to the deal.  We have an unbelievable speaker line-up for the event: Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, Mark Levin, and Glenn Beck are all confirmed! This is our chance to tell everyone on Capitol Hill why this deal must be defeated! . . .

If this event is streamed, we’ll post the link.

UPDATE 9/9: Here's the link.

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Labor Day weekend and Cleveland Air Show

Happy Labor Day weekend! 

Here are Thunderbirds 

and an A10 Warthog 

at the Cleveland Air Show

photo credit: pat dooley photography
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The inside dope

Speaking of the ResponsibleOhio amendment on the next ballot . . .

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GOP "leadership" caves on Iran

Andy McCarthy reports the bad news at PJ Media:

Senator Barbara Mikulski has announced that she will vote in favor of President Obama’s Iran deal. Sen. Mikulski’s support is critical because she becomes the 34th Democrat to announce that she will vote yea. Under the Corker framework so ingeniously conceived by Republican leadership in Congress, this means Obama’s deal cannot be defeated – under the legislation Congress is deemed to endorse the agreement unless it can muster a now unattainable 67 Senate votes (and a similar two-thirds of the House) to enact a resolution of disapproval over Obama’s veto.

It is worth repeating that Republicans rationalized this abdication of their duty to use their constitutional powers to block Obama’s empowerment of America’s sworn enemies by claiming that the legislation ensured that Congress would get to review the deal. This, of course, was always preposterous.

. . . 

Good job, Mr. President, Sen. Mikulski, congressional Democrats, and GOP leadership. What better way to “reaffirm our commitment to the safety and security of Israel” than to conceive and grease the wheels for a deal that gives breathtaking aid and comfort to its enemy – and ours.

Read the rest here. The Sept. 9 rally protesting the Iran “deal” in DC is still on, but sadly, it looks like the fix is already in.

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Trump and Cruz headline Sept. 9 Rally Against Iran “Deal”

Photo credit: clarionproject

Stop the Iran “deal” Rally in DC Wednesday, September 9

Sen. Ted Cruz & Donald Trump will headline the Tea Party Patriots rally against the Iran “Deal” on September 9 in DC on the West Lawn of the US Capitol. There is a full report at Breitbart.

Our friends with the Mansfield North Central Ohio Tea Party are organizing a bus that would leave from Sam's Club parking lot in Ontario (suburb of Mansfield) on Tuesday September 8, and return early Thursday morning, September 10.  This allows everyone to sleep while traveling and avoid Washington's expensive hotel fees. The organizers will need about 40 passengers to break even. Cost per person is probably in the $100-$120 range. For details, email Cleveland Tea Party Patriots and we will forward your inquiry.


For a sobering analysis of the real consequences of the Iran “deal,” here’s Amb. John Bolton’s opinion in National Review. 

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