Tea Party Patriots Ordinary citizens reclaiming America's founding principles.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

What next? Graves amendment could delay Obamacare


2 Days to Obamacare : If you have not yet signed the online petition Don’tFundIt, go here. You will receive an email to confirm that you intended to sign the petition. As of noon on Sat., Sept. 28, there were over 1,900,000 signatures, and counting. We need to get this over 2 million. Sen. Cruz has said all along he needed to see a grassroots tsunami effort to get the Senate to listen!!!

Last week, 25 "Republicans" (listed below, scare quotes intentional) voted for ending debate on the CR on Friday, even though they knew that it would result in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid attaching an amendment to it, that would allow funding for Obamacare.  
In simple truth, the vote for Cloture was a vote to fund Obamacare. They knew that if they voted on Cloture and allowed Harry Reid to strip the defunding measure out of the bill, that it would easily pass on a 51 vote simple majority. 

A New Species of Invertebrates

Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, along with a few others, have worked tirelessly to stand up for the American people and have proven that the majority of the "ruling elite" Republicans are not listening to their constituents.  These "Republicans", instead, have proven themselves to be a new form of invertebrates.  If they once had a spine, it is now gone, and has been for quite some time. 
These invertebrates have pushed the burden back to the House, which did the right thing when passing a CR to fund the government, but not Obamacare.



What Next?
Rep. Graves to Offer "Fairness Agreement" to Senate CR

The Fairness Amendment, which has 61 House Republican supporters, would delay Obamacare until 2015. Rep. Graves issued the following statement about the amendment:
"A simple and reasonable way to ensure fairness for all is to provide every American the same one-year Obamacare delay that President Obama provided for businesses and others...our amendment rejects the Washington-style special treatment for the privileged few and demands fairness for all... as we continue working to keep the government open and protect our constituents from the harmful effects of Obamacare."

The Fairness Amendment to H.J. Res. 59  enforces a delay of Obamacare until 2015:
  •  All of Obamacare's taxes, fines, Medicare cuts and other key provisions would be delayed until 2015.
  •  Exempts CHIP from the delay.
  •  CHIP, a health insurance program for children, became law 1997 and was folded into Obamacare.
Please  click here for the text of the amendment. 

For the record, here are the 25 GOP/RINO Senators who caved on the Cloture vote:
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
John Barrasso (R-WY)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
John Boozman (R-AR)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Jeff Chiesa (R-NJ)
Daniel Coats (R-IN)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
John Hoeven (R-ND)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Ron Johnson (R-WI)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
John Thune (R-SD)
Roger Wicker (R-MS)

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Friday, September 27, 2013

Vitter Introduces "No Washington Exemption from Obamacare" to CR

3 Days to Obamacare : If you have not yet signed the online petition Don’tFundIt, go here. You will receive an email to confirm that you intended to sign the petition. As of 10 am on Fri., Sept. 27, there were over 1,859,000 signatures, and counting. We need to get this over 2 million. Sen. Cruz has said all along he needed to see a grassroots tsunami effort to get the Senate to listen!!!



Senate President Harry Reid has scheduled the votes on the Continuing Resolution (HJR to start at 12:30pm today.
The weak GOP Senators want to have it both ways by voting for the Clotures with the defunding of Obamacare language still in the CR, knowing it will be removed by Harry Reid after the votes are taken. 

Our position has been and will remain -- 
any vote for cloture is a vote for Obamacare.

Your phone calls, emails, etc.... are working!  In making your calls through the week, many of you may have noticed the phones at the Senators office have either been turned off or you have been sent directly to voice mail. (That's a good sign!)

If the establishment elite in the GOP want to play games and try to dodge your calls -- we are going to show them we will not be deterred and we will get around their attempts to block and ignore our calls.

To continue applying the pressure, as part of this Action Alert we have included a link (Click Here) that has the email contact information for the Chief of Staff and Media Spokesperson of these Senators, (Click Here).

And in something we have been lobbying for privately the last week, Senator David Vitter (R-LA), tried offering an amendment to eliminate the exemptions and public-financed subsidies D.C. staffers and Congress will receive under Obamacare.  Senator Harry Reid, while allowing the amendment to strike defunding language, is trying to block Vitter's Amendment 1983 to eliminate D.C. exemptions and subsidies.

While we are standing strong on voting no for cloture, it is very important we force the Democrats and weak GOP Senators take a stand alone vote on Vitter's Amendment 1983 to eliminate the D.C. exemptions from Obamacare.



Passion to Action
NO CLOTURE

As usual, and as expected, Senator Rob Portman, while claiming to be against Obamacare or funding Obamacare has yet to sign on and join the conservatives in the Senate standing strong against the funding of Obamacare.

Knowing that when Senator Portman says he is against something, it doesn't mean he is really against it, we need to continue our calls to his office in attempts and hopes that he will, at least for once during his term, stand with people that elected him.

Our other Senator from Ohio, Senator Sherrod Brown, a hero with the Union leaders, who are more and more coming out against Obamacare, also needs to be targeted.  Claiming to be "for the working man" surely Senator Brown would not want his exemptions and subsidies for himself, his wife Connie Schultz and his staff to be paid for by the working man he claims to support

Please contact Senator Portman and Senator Brown:
  • Tell them to vote NO on both cloture votes
  • Support Senator Vitters Amendment 1983 to eliminate D.C. exemptions and subisidies from Obamacare.
Senator Portman
DC Office: (202)224-3353

Portman's Chief of Staff
Rob Lehman 

Portman's N/E Ohio District Representative
George Brown
PH: (216)522-1095
Senator Sherrod Brown
D.C. Office: (202) 224-2315
Brown's Chief of Staff
Mark Powden

For email and phone contact information for all the Senators, please click here.






Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Thank you Ted Cruz! #MakeDCListen





Sen. Ted Cruz is walking the walk (and reading Green Eggs and Ham to his kids at bedtime!!), while the GOP establishment withholds its support of his principled actions - and whines and whines and whines. From Tea Party Patriots:

. . . Senators, Congressmen, and their staff want to force us to pay for and live under this law,  yet they have exempted themselves from Obamacare. . . .No man is above the law in America. America was founded precisely because our founders did not want to live under kings and tyrannical rule, and now we have a Ruling Class in DC forcing us to live under laws they do do not want to abide by.  (BTW, the staffers on the floor of the Senate Chamber who are watching the filibuster really, really do not like having that pointed out to them. As we were watching the debate in the Senate you could see body language change in the Senate Chamber as soon as the exemptions and the Ruling Class is mentioned.)

You may be wondering, "How can I help?  How can I get involved in this historic moment to stop Obamacare from becoming the entrenched law of the land?"  Here is what is needed next:

Join the fight on Twitter TONIGHT and throughout the week.
Please use your Twitter account to weigh in on this debate.  The Senate offices are paying attention to Twitter and the hashtag #MakeDCListen is trending #1 on Twitter tonight.  We are making a difference on social media and on Capitol Hill! A list of the Senators twitter ids is below. Contact both Republican and Democrat Senators. While tweeting, ask your senators the list of questions below, give them a map of the Capitol in case they have forgotten how to get to the Senate floor, and let them know you are watching. Be sure to tell the Senators you do not want a vote for cloture to close the debate (which is likely to happen on Friday or Saturday) until there is a guarantee of a clean vote for the House CR. That is our next milestone in defunding Obamcare.
  
Here is a list of all Senators and their Twitter Handles.
The ones with #ThankYou spoke on the Senate floor today in support of Cruz and Lee. The ones with #MakeDCListen have not shown their support on the Senate floor.
 

State Name Twitter Handle Party Tweet
AK Lisa Murkowski @lisamurkowski Republican #MakeDCListen
AK Mark Begich @SenatorBegich Democrat #MakeDCListen
AL Jeff Sessions @SenatorSessions Republican #ThankYou
AL Richard Shelby @SenShelbyPress Republican #MakeDCListen
AR John Boozman @JohnBoozman Republican #MakeDCListen
AR Mark Pryor @SenMarkPryor Democrat #MakeDCListen
AZ John McCain @SenJohnMcCain Republican #MakeDCListen
AZ Jeff Flake @JeffFlake Republican #MakeDCListen
CA Dianne Feinstein @SenFeinstein Democrat #MakeDCListen
CA Barbara Boxer @SenatorBoxer Democrat #MakeDCListen
CO Mark Udall @MarkUdall Democrat #MakeDCListen
CO Michael Bennet @SenBennetCO Democrat #MakeDCListen
CT Richard Blumenthal @SenBlumenthal Democrat #MakeDCListen
CT Chris Murphy @ChrisMurphyCT Democrat #MakeDCListen
DE Tom Carper @SenatorCarper Democrat #MakeDCListen
DE Chris Coons @ChrisCoons Democrat #MakeDCListen
FL Marco Rubio @marcorubio Republican #ThankYou
FL Bill Nelson @SenBillNelson Democrat #MakeDCListen
GA Saxby Chambliss @SaxbyChambliss Republican #MakeDCListen
GA Johnny Isakson @SenatorIsakson Republican #MakeDCListen
HA Brian Schatz @brianschatz Democrat #MakeDCListen
HA Mazie Hirono @maziehirono Democrat #MakeDCListen
IA Chuck Grassley @ChuckGrassley Republican #MakeDCListen
IA Tom Harkin @SenatorHarkin Democrat #MakeDCListen
ID Mike Crapo @MikeCrapo Republican #MakeDCListen
ID Jim Risch @SenatorRisch Republican #MakeDCListen
IL Mark Kirk @SenatorKirk Republican #MakeDCListen
IL Dick Durbin @SenatorDurbin Democrat #MakeDCListen
IN Dan Coats @SenDanCoats Republican #MakeDCListen
IN Joe Donnelly @SenDonnelly Democrat #MakeDCListen
KS Pat Roberts @SenPatRoberts Republican #MakeDCListen
KS Jerry Moran @JerryMoran Republican #MakeDCListen
KY Rand Paul @SenRandPaul Republican #ThankYou
KY Mitch McConnell @McConnellPress Republican #MakeDCListen
LA David Vitter @DavidVitter Republican #ThankYou
LA Mary Landrieu @SenLandrieu Democrat #MakeDCListen
MA William (Mo) Cowan @SenMoCowen Democrat #MakeDCListen
MA Elizabeth Warren @elizabethforma Democrat #MakeDCListen
MD Barbara Mikulski @SenatorBarb Democrat #MakeDCListen
MD Ben Cardin @SenatorCardin Democrat #MakeDCListen
ME Susan Collins @SenatorCollins Republican #MakeDCListen
ME Angus King @SenAngusKing Independent #MakeDCListen
MI Carl Levin @SenCarlLevin Democrat #MakeDCListen
MI Debbie Stabenow @StabenowPress Democrat #MakeDCListen
MN Amy Klobuchar @amyklobuchar Democrat #MakeDCListen
MN Al Franken @alfranken Democrat #MakeDCListen
MO Roy Blunt @RoyBlunt Republican #MakeDCListen
MO Claire McCaskill @clairecmc Democrat #MakeDCListen
MS Roger Wicker @SenatorWicker Republican #MakeDCListen
MS Thad Cochran @SenThadCochran Republican #MakeDCListen
MT Max Baucus @MaxBaucus Democrat #MakeDCListen
MT Jon Tester @jontester Democrat #MakeDCListen
NC Richard Burr @SenatorBurr Republican #MakeDCListen
NC Kay Hagan @SenatorHagan Democrat #MakeDCListen
ND John Hoeven @SenJohnHoeven Republican #MakeDCListen
ND Heidi Heitkamp @SenatorHeitkamp Democrat #MakeDCListen
NE Deb Fischer @SenatorFischer Republican #MakeDCListen
NE Mike Johanns @Mike_Johanns Republican #MakeDCListen
NH Kelly Ayotte @KellyAyotte Republican #MakeDCListen
NH Jeanne Shaheen @SenatorShaheen Democrat #MakeDCListen
NJ Jeffrey S. Chiesa @ChiseaNews Republican #MakeDCListen
NJ Bob Menendez @Menendez4NJ Democrat #MakeDCListen
NM Tom Udall @SenatorTomUdall Democrat #MakeDCListen
NM Martin Heinrich @MartinHeinrich Democrat #MakeDCListen
NV Dean Heller @SenDeanHeller Republican #MakeDCListen
NV Harry Reid @SenatorReid Democrat #MakeDCListen
NY Chuck Schumer @ChuckSchumer Democrat #MakeDCListen
NY Kirsten Gillibrand @SenGillibrand Democrat #MakeDCListen
OH Rob Portman @robportman Republican #MakeDCListen
OH Sherrod Brown @SenSherrodBrown Democrat #MakeDCListen
OK Jim Inhofe @jiminhofe Republican #ThankYou
OK Tom Coburn @TomCoburn Republican #MakeDCListen
OR Ron Wyden @RonWyden Democrat #MakeDCListen
OR Jeff Merkley @SenJeffMerkley Democrat #MakeDCListen
PA Pat Toomey @SenToomey Republican #MakeDCListen
PA Bob Casey, Jr. @Bob_Casey Democrat #MakeDCListen
RI Jack Reed @SenJackReed Democrat #MakeDCListen
RI Sheldon Whitehouse @SenWhitehouse Democrat #MakeDCListen
SC Lindsey Graham @LindseyGrahamSC Republican #MakeDCListen
SC Tim Scott @SenatorTimScott Republican #MakeDCListen
SD John Thune @SenJohnThune Republican #MakeDCListen
SD Tim Johnson @SenJohnsonSD Republican #MakeDCListen
TN Lamar Alexander @SenAlexander Republican #MakeDCListen
TN Bob Corker @SenBobCorker Republican #MakeDCListen
TX Ted Cruz @tedcruz Republican #ThankYou
TX John Cornyn @JohnCornyn Republican #MakeDCListen
UT Mike Lee @SenMikeLee Republican #ThankYou
UT Orrin Hatch @OrrinHatch Republican #MakeDCListen
VA Mark Warner @MarkWarner Democrat #MakeDCListen
VA Tim Kaine @timkaine Democrat #MakeDCListen
VT Bernie Sanders @SenSanders Independent #MakeDCListen
VT Patrick Leahy @SenatorLeahy Democrat #MakeDCListen
WA Patty Murray @PattyMurray Democrat #MakeDCListen
WA Maria Cantwell @CantwellPress Democrat #MakeDCListen
WI Ron Johnson @SenRonJohnson Republican #MakeDCListen
WI Tammy Baldwin @tammybaldwin Democrat #MakeDCListen
WV Jay Rockefeller @SenRockefeller Democrat #MakeDCListen
WV Joe Manchin @Sen_JoeManchin Democrat #MakeDCListen
WY Mike Enzi @SenatorEnzi Republican #ThankYou
WY John Barrasso @SenJohnBarrasso Republican #MakeDCListen

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Monday, September 23, 2013

GOP game-playing

7 Days to Obamacare : If you have not yet signed the online petition Don’tFundIt, go here. You will receive an email to confirm that you intended to sign the petition. As of 2 pm on Mon., Sept. 23, there were over 1,600,000 signatures, and counting. We need to get this over 2 million. Sen. Cruz has said all along he needed to see a grassroots tsunami effort to get the Senate to listen!!!


AndrewMcCarthy pretty much nails it when it comes to understanding why patriots run into so many brick walls with so-called “conservative” GOPs:

The Republican establishment resists President Obama and his agenda only when it knows that resistance is futile, token and sure to be inconsequential — when it’s good for a campaign commercial about how hard the GOP is working to undo Obamacare, not when it’s about actually working hard to undo Obamacare. For most Senate Republicans, the vote on an anti-Obamacare amendment in the context of authorizing national defense programs that Republicans knew they were never going to block was a pose — just like the 40-odd votes to repeal Obamacare that had no chance of becoming law. 

By contrast, the current defunding effort is a put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is moment: Risk a government shutdown over Obamacare funding under circumstances where Republicans could be blamed, but where (a) Obamacare is very unpopular and its downside consequences are just beginning to kick in; (b) the defunding strategy includes a commitment to fund the rest of government so it can be demonstrated that Obama would really be the one shutting down the government over Obamacare; and (c) Obama himself has already unilaterally and unconstitutionally defunded aspects of Obamacare, including repugnant accommodations for big corporations, Obama insiders, and members of Congress — such that, if the government shuts down, Republicans can compellingly argue that they are only insisting that the American people get the same relief from this awful law that Obama cronies, the ruling class, and the politically-connected get. 

It may not work. Even if it doesn’t, though, it could have long-term benefits as Democrats up for election in 2014 and 2016 — Democrats who have gotten Obamacare fixes for themselves — are forced to defend Obamacare in the light of day. And for conservatives, it is a chance to see which Republicans are for real and which ones talk a good game as long as it’s just a game.

Yup.
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Friday, September 20, 2013

House votes to defund Obamacare


10 Days to Obamacare : If you have not yet signed the online petition Don’tFundIt, go here. You will receive an email to confirm that you intended to sign the petition. As of 3 pm on Fri., Sept. 20, there were over 1,545,000 signatures, and counting. We need to get this over 2 million. Sen. Cruz has said all along he needed to see a grassroots tsunami effort to get the Senate to listen to voters!!!



This just in from Marianne / Mansfield Tea Party:
The House just voted 230 to 189 to keep the government funded while stopping funding for Obamacare.
Now on to the Senate, where Harry Reid is sure to create a road block and ignore the will of the American people.
With the majority of Americans opposing Obamacare, will Harry Reid finally listen?
This is a critical moment and we need everyone making phone calls to Harry Reid to tell him to listen to the voice of the American people.
Call Harry Reid now and tell him that we will not rest until we stop Obamacare!
Harry Reid:  202 224-3542
While you're at it, call Senators Portman and Brown and tell them we also expect them to represent the will of their Constituents, and support this CR that continues to fund the Government, while defunding Obamacare. 
Senator Portman - 
Columbus:  800 205-6446
DC:              202 224-3353

Senator Brown - 
Cleveland:   888 896-6446
DC:               202 224-2315
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Don't forget to say Thank You.
Please make calls to your Congressmen and thank them for voting "yes" on the CR. We know the pressure will be even more intense over the next week, and they need to keep standing strong. Let them know you are there to help them stand strong. 
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Where There's a Will, There's a Way
From the start, it was Boehner and his Boehnerettes that were not supporting the CR that defunds Obamacare.  Could Boehner have been so willing "changed his mind" because he knows what Harry Reid has up his sleeve? Click Here to Read More.
It is very possible, even likely, that the Senate will send the CR back to the House, stripped of its defunding language.  It is the Senate who will refuse to fund the government, because they will be stripped of the special favors they receive over the rest of the taxpaying public.
The House needs to stay strong on their position.  It is the Senate's lack of ability to produce a budget that has put us in this position, and Boehner and his Boehnerettes have allowed it to happen.
It's time to say "No More!" 
Here are Speaker Boehner's details:
Butler County Office  PH (513) 779-5400
Miami County Office PH (937) 339-1524
Clark County Office   PH (937) 322-1120

D.C. Office
PH  (202) 225-6205
FAX (202) 225-0704

And his mailbox (send postcards):
Speaker John Boehner
7969 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Suite B
West Chester, OH 45069

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And if you've been hearing some members of the GOP (like Pete King) trash Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee for their efforts, here's Andrew McCarthy's take on it:
For spearheading the move to defund the (Not Remotely) Affordable Care Act, intrepid Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) have been scalded by the usual ruling class crowd of GOP establishment leaders and Obama administration officials. Yet public resistance to a law the public has never liked – and about which the public grows increasingly anxious as its deleterious consequences and exploding costs begin to materialize – has forced leadership’s hand even as it demonstrates, yet again, the divide between the Beltway and the country.
Read the rest here