Barney Frank Agrees With Evan Bayh
Feb 17, 2010 Commentary
Barney Frank agrees with Evan Bayh that the climate in the Congress is not operating as it should and that there is too much partisanship. Frank thinks it would be better if Senator Bayh stays on and helps to end the filibuster, a procedure that allows bills to be stalled or killed.
Both parties have used the filibuster and both have threatened to kill it in order to pass their agendas. The filibuster is only good when one is in the minority and bad when one is in the majority. Minorities love using it.
The filibuster is a thorn in the side of the majority because invoking it requires a 3/5 (60 vote) cloture to end it. This means that each time the filibuster is used it requires more than a simple majority to get things passed.
The Constitution describes a quorum as a majority of a particular chamber present. This suggests that a majority is all that is needed to conduct business and to get things done. However, the Constitution also allows each chamber to make its own rules and the rules of the Senate allow for the filibuster and requires 3/5 to end it. They can change those rules but that would require 2/3 (67 votes) to vote for the change. It is unlikely that the Senate could get 67 people to vote on ending the filibuster as a rule change.
If Democrats were to succeed then it is likely they would ask for the filibuster in the future and would want a rule change to get it. Remember, the minority party loves the filibuster. If they could get 67 votes they might get satisfaction now but regret it later when a Republican Congress and President could do what it wanted with no opposition from Democrats.
Another option is the Nuclear or Constitutional option. This is a procedure where the filibuster is declared unconstitutional and then must be voted on. In order to pass, a simple majority of 51 votes is needed. In other words, the Democrats could declare the filibuster unconstitutional and then use 51 votes to end it (Republicans do not have enough votes to stop it).
This is what Bill Frist threatened to do when Bush nominees were being denied an up or down vote. The Democrats threatened to shut down the Senate if Frist invoked the nuclear option. The filibuster was obviously important to them at that time and they were willing to shut down the Senate to keep it.
I am not sure how they could have shut down the Senate but one would have to assume the Republicans could do the same thing.
If the Democrats declare the filibuster unconstitutional then it would likely be lost forever. How could any Congress later state that it was not unconstitutional after all? Of course, how can they declare it unconstitutional when they have been using it since the mid 1800s?
As for Barney Frank, he is not part of the Senate so his input really matters little since he cannot vote on the Matter. Besides, he has been one of the most partisan people in Congress.
His idea of partisanship is when Republicans do what the Democrats want. Frank has little concern for the ideas of the other side.
I did not like Ted Kennedy but he knew how to broker a deal and to reach across the aisle on occasion. He worked with Republicans and Republicans worked with him to get legislation passed.
Was it always good legislation? No but they did work together.
We do not need to end the filibuster, we need to end the tenure of the people in Congress. It is time to sweep out the people who have been there for way too long.
In the last election the youth of America embraced Barack Obama as young and in tune. They discounted McCain, in part, because of his age and length of service.
It is time they did the same to the people in Congress by embracing younger people who are not career politicians.
Most Americans are not far left or far right. I am conservative on some things and moderate on others. Adam and Darrel, who comment here, are liberal on some things and moderate on others. We can have the debates about policy and what we think is good for America and we can either agree or agree to disagree. In the end we have more in common than not though we differ on how to get to where we need to be as a country (and where we need to be). One thing is certain though, we cannot get anywhere as long as we allow people to take up residence in DC and have decades long careers. We need fresh blood.
Vote for the new person in the primary and then let the parties fight it out in the general election. Let us show them who they work for and let us hold them accountable.
I will not vote for any incumbent in November. I urge everyone else to do the same.
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Tags: barney frank, conservative, evan bayh, incumbent, liberal, Obama
Is Congressman Kratovil Getting The Message?
Aug 15, 2009 Political
I recently wrote about my Congressman, Frank Kratovil of Maryland’s First District. He is an alleged Blue Dog Democrat and he won the traditionally Republican District by a small margin thanks to the large amount of money infused by the Obama special interest groups and the endorsement of former MD 1 Congressman Wayne Gilchrest. This RINO endorsed Kratovil because he was upset that he lost the primary to a Republican who actually IS conservative. I don’t think Kratovil will be in his seat for long but I do know that he will hasten his exit by supporting the liberal/socialist positions of Obama.
I wrote of Kratovil’s lie. I called his office and his staffer assured me that Kratovil had not taken a position on the health care bill. He already voted for Cap and Trade so it is obvious he is not a Blue Dog but a lap dog. After I spoke with his staffer the “uncommitted” congressman was out hawking for Obama and his health care plan. Kratovil had indeed taken a position and it was contrary to the one held by the majority of his constituents.
My reminder to the staffer that Kratovil won by a small margin must have made it back to him. I am sure he has also received quite a few reminders of this by others in his district.
FT.com is reporting that several first term congressmen are reconsidering their positions.
Frank Kratovil and Tom Perriello, who as freshmen congressmen would be expected to back the party leadership, both say proposals for expanding coverage to the uninsured are unacceptable in their current form and should focus more on cost savings.
Mr Kratovil, who was hanged in effigy by a healthcare protester at a town hall meeting in his state of Maryland, said he would have voted against legislation if it had come to a vote last month.
Kratovil NOW says that he would have voted against the bill in its current form so why was he out hawking for Obama? Why was he trying to sell the boondoggle to his constituents when he held his town hall meeting? Now that he has heard from his constituents he is singing a different song. That is good because he should be listening but make no mistake, he is all for the Obama agenda but he is also worried about being reelected. In the final analysis he knows that his constituents are the people who will put him back in office, not Obama and the party mob bosses.
Losing elections is why the Democrats want to have Republicans on board for this. If they can get Republicans to vote for it they can allow their vulnerable members (like Kratovil) to vote against it and be able to tout his Blue Dog credentials. No Republican should vote for this. Force the Democrats to pass this without any Republican support and force people like Kratovil to choose between his party and his constituents. We cannot give these people an easy way out of the mess they created.
I will be holding Kratovil accountable for his votes and right now he is in trouble for his vote for cap and trade. I worked very hard to get rid of Gilchrest and I will do the same to get rid of Kratovil.
We must get rid of all enemies foreign and DOMESTIC.
Anyone that votes for these socialistic programs is a domestic enemy. Kratovil is in good company with all the enemies of the state in the Obama administration including the chief thug Obamadinejad.
Kratovil had better straighten up and fly right. He needs to remember who he works for and he better do what we want. Gilchrest played games and lost his job. Kratovil will go a lot faster in the conservative First District of Maryland.
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Tags: conservative, frank kratovil, health care, liberal, lies, Obama
Why I like Sarah Palin
Jul 26, 2009 Political
Well, Sarah Palin will, after today, no longer be Governor of Alaska. I think that is detrimental to Alaska, but the Liberals who go nuts at the very thought of her had tied her hands with the ridiculous “ethics complaints”, which were nothing more than a harassment to her and her office, making the day to day operations much more difficult, and driving her into debt. Very petty, but then that is a liberal trademark- nothing is too petty, or off- limits, as evidenced by the treatment of her son, Trig, who has Down Syndrome.
Despite her popularity, or maybe because of her minimal reaction to this popularity, she has my admiration. She was literally picked up by John McCain from virtually out of nowhere- Alaska not the typical venue when looking for running mates- and thrust into the national spotlight. Oh, I admit, (and she would also) that she was not prepared, and John McCain’s people, from almost the very beginning tried to undercut her popularity in what became an in- house bloodletting that led to McCain’s defeat.
I mean, let’s get real here- Hussein did not so much win, as McCain lost. With the Republicans in disarray as they were, divided party and all, Hussein should have walked off with at least a 46 state win, especially given all the ghost voters ACORN gave him, but no- he did eke out a win, but it was truly paltry, given all the other circumstances, and the reason was Sarah Palin.
Despite the liberal bloggers, her own inexperience, and the in- fighting in the campaign end run, she brought some excitement to the race. And there are legitimate reasons for this.
One, she was, and is, a real person. She speaks sometimes too candidly, and is not as articulate as a politician with a constant teleprompter, but she says pretty much what she thinks. This can be both good and bad.
She has managed a business, unlike Hussein, who had people who would bill other people for him- how elitist. She, on the other hand, had to manage inventory, do the taxes,and handle employees and their problems, all while trying to maintain a profit. She is blue- collar, not white- collar. She pulls in the fishing nets with the other people, and does not simply stand back and opine on how hard the work is.
She has a real family, problems and all- not Stepford children. Yes they make mistakes, but then haven’t your children? If they haven’t, you have them shackled in your basement and should be investigated.
She is a charmer, but I know that she did not get her nickname “Sarah Barracuda” because it sounded funny- but because she can be tenacious.
The fact that she resigned her job as Governor of Alaska has, to some pundits, hurt her chances to be effective in any meaningful national way, but that is untrue. If that was really the case, Hussein, Emmanuel, Sebelius, and any number of Senators, Governors, Representatives, and other political hacks would have to wear that same label of quitter, as none of them finished what they began.
In Sarah’s case it was a bit different, with frivolous complaints filed virtually every day by some liberal nutjob or another over anything. It is said that a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich in a Grand Jury room, and it is also true that anyone can file a complaint- it costs little to nothing, but every complaint has to be investigated and defended, leading to a backlog of necessary work, and distractions that meant that the work of Alaska was not being done in a timely fashion.
So she resigned. The decision was so common sense, that the logic escapes most people. This allows her the freedom to write a book, make appearances for money, and begin to build up her cash flow, which has been depleted by these ridiculous lawsuits. The business of Alaska can resume, in good hands. She is still very popular, and if she decides to re enter the field of politics, I have every confidence she will continue to scare the bejeebers out of liberals.
Because she is their worst nightmare- a conservative feminist.
Liberals just can not process that thought.
Good.
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Tags: conservative, palin, populist, real people, tenacity
Zo Is Right On The Money Again
Apr 19, 2009 Political
Zo has a new video out which is getting a lot of attention at Big Hollywood.
I guess Zo is one of the people who suffer from Stockholm Syndrome. At least according to the skank Garofalo.
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Tags: big hollywood, conservative, eminem, hate, palin, pregnancy, responsibility, zo
Tea Party Protesters Are Racists
Apr 17, 2009 Political, tea party
Stevie Wonder Could Have Seen This Coming
Janeane Garofalo, the skank dirtball who is allergic to bathing, has weighed in with her assessment of the people who attended the peaceful Tea Party protests which were grass roots and driven from the bottom up, unlike the George Soros flash protests of the left (yeah Meathead, I know what you wrote). According to this Franken like comedian (as in NOT funny) the protests were driven by racial hatred by a bunch of white people who can’t stand having a black man (actually a HALF black man) as president.
“Let’s be very honest about what this is about. This is not about bashing Democrats. It’s not about taxes. They have no idea what the Boston Tea party was about. They don’t know their history at all. It’s about hating a black man in the White House,” she said on MSNBC’s “The Countdown” with Keith Olbermann Thursday evening. “This is racism straight up and is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks. There is no way around that.” Washington Times
There is a way around this mindless prattle and that is by listening to the truth. Skank insults the intelligence of every person (estimated at about 300,000) by saying they had no idea what the first Boston Tea Party was about. The last thing anyone needs is a moron like Garofalo trying to teach them.
The Tea Parties were not about racism and they were not totally about Resident Obama. They were about the out of control spending and waste of tax dollars by our government. This includes George Bush and most members of Congress regardless of party. People like Garofalo need to keep telling these lies in order to protect the sainted Won. It is a slap in the face to him because he was supposed to be the Won who would calm the seas, bring us together and make the world a better place. It is not good for there to be so much discontent when the sainted Won is in office.
Garofalo also took aim at Fox News which is strange because she was on the payroll of Fox when she appeared in the hit series 24. I like her character in the show. She is obviously liberal and demonstrates how they act by opposing a legally questionable thing until the person asking says she needs to do it to feel better and atone for an earlier mistake. Just like a lib, “if it makes you feel good then it is OK.”
Anyway, Garofalo was on the Keith Olberdouche show so that means she is getting more exposure from blogs than she did on the show because hardly anyone watches it.
As for her assertions, I take them with a grain of salt. I stated long ago that no matter what was done if it was seen as opposition to the Won (even though the Tea Parties were opposition to oppressive government) then it would be labeled racist. If someone opposes redistribution of wealth, racist. If someone opposes tax increases or out of control spending, racist. If someone, well, you get the picture.
This is not surprising coming from Garofalo. She is a skank, or as Cleveland on Family Guy might say; “oh, that’s just nasty.”
Isn’t it strange that the MSM and all the libs will run around like their heads are on fire and their a$$e$ are catching because they feel conservative talk show hosts might incite violence but they give a pass to people like this (especially Olberdouche) who routinely say things that could cause hatred and violence. How many people who believe the whole racist redneck tag will resort to violence because of it? I am not saying the talk hosts should be blamed because I have said quite often that people are responsible for their own actions but does anyone else see the hypocrisy?
As for intelligence and all the insults about conservative brains, look who is saying it. Garofalo could not pour water out of a bucket if the directions were written on the bottom.
I hope they whack her character in 24. It would be fun to watch her die a horrible death (but only in the show).
I know Olberdouche and the others at PMSNBC don’t have very high ratings. I would not have known about this were it not for Amanda Carpenter and Shari Elliker because I do not watch that network. It seems to me that it is the place where morons go to watch equally moronic people drool all over themselves.
Tags: conservative, garofalo, insults, msnbc, olberman, redneck, tea party