Day: November 9, 2010

One For The Books

I would like to speak on one of Info Ink’s favorite whackos-in-residence, one Michele Bachmann, Rep. from the great state of Minnesota…it seems that with the new Congress, the 112th to be exact, Ms Bachmann wants to bring in experts to teach the Constitution to lawmakers…..

Any Fox News fan will tell you that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is one of Fox’s favorite members of Congress. To Special Report anchor Bret Baier, she’s “[a]ttractive, energetic, a GOP headliner.” To Fox Business host Andrew Napolitano, she’s a “well-known expert on the Constitution.” To Glenn Beck, she’s “one of the good guys,” and according to him, we “need more people like” her in office.

To other members of Congress, Bachmann is also the founder of the House Tea Party Caucus, and Bachmann has said that in this role, she plans to start holding classes on the Constitution for members of Congress.While Napolitano was guest-hosting the October 12 edition of Glenn Beck, Bachmann said to him: “I’m asking experts from around the country to come in every week and teach our constitutional principles. And Judge, I’ll ask you right now on national TV if you’ll come in and be one of our experts and lead our members of Congress in these principles.” She continued, “I’m serious about this, because we have to make sure that they know what it is that we’re swearing to uphold”:

Under normal circumstances I would be all in favor of anyone learning more about the Constitution and how it works and what it says……B U T!

My question now is….should not the people that we elect to govern already have knowledge of the Constitution and how it works?  If people are elected to govern in our name,  should they already have a working knowledge of the document?

If not, why would we vote for someone+ that does not know the major document of governance in the US?

Ms Bachmann is NOT doing much to restore confidence in our elected officials if they do NOT know the Constitution……This is the most idiotic piece of crap ever uttered by someone that claims to be an expert on the Constitution about her fellow representatives…..if these wealthy people do not know the Constitution then who will they be governing the country for?  You already know that answer….even if you do not want to face the truth…..a hint…..IT IS NOT YOU!

Does A Power Struggle Loom Large?

College of Political Knowledge

2010 Mid-Term Elections

Lecture #12

I remember back in the day, during the Cold War, every time the USSR got a new leader there would be the inevitable power struggle to see who would get power or retain power…..I am going to do a Beck-esque drawing a conclusion…only difference is that I do not have an irritating blackboard (BTW, a blackboard is so old school)…the power struggle I am referring to is the one that will happen on January 3, 2011 when the new Congress takes over and all the new faces and hollow shells will be jockeying for their little slice of the power pie….

Let us start with the House of reps and the leadership….Ohio’s John Boehner will be in the lead to become the Speaker of the House and to buy votes for his election to that position he has resoprted to some interesting tactics…..as reported by the AP….

Minority Leader John Boehner promised this week that if southwest Georgia residents unseat Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop, he will support placing GOP challenger Mike Keown on the House Agriculture Committee. It’s a promise designed to get Keown votes in a red-soil district that harvests the nation’s largest peanut and pecan crop.

As Republicans campaign to win a majority in Congress, Boehner has dangled similar promises in Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Minnesota and Hawaii, sometimes in districts where single economic interests like farming or defense dominate regional economies.

And then there are the other positions of influence within the GOP and the Repub Caucus…….as written in Talking Points memo…..

conservative activists don’t tend to hold the top two House Republicans — Boehner, and Whip Eric Cantor — in the highest esteem. Particularly Cantor. At the influential conservative blog Red State, Erick Erickson spoke for legions of conservatives, who are hoping against hope that Republican Conference Chair Mike Pence becomes a major influence peddler next Congress.”There are people, I’m not sure members, but people hoping to stop Cantor from becoming leader, because people don’t like Cantor,” says a top GOP strategist. “It feels like it’s going nowhere.

If Cantor gets the bump, that will leave the whip position open. GOP sources say the smart money is that Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will get the nod over NRCC chair Pete Sessions. By building the Young Guns program, McCarthy has earned the sort of loyalty and respect from members and candidates that’s crucial for a successful Whip operation. How does the right feel about McCarthy? “McCarthy is a good guy and I appreciate both his work in building a new Republican majority [but] he is most definitely not by any stretch of the imagination outside of California, an across the board conservative.”

And then there is the leadership of the Republican Conference chairmanship……with Mike Pence planning to step down…there will most likely be a fight for that position and the first one to step forward is our old friend, Michele Bachmann….you remember her the crazy lady that thinks that liberals are un-American and set herself up as the leader of the Tea Party Caucus….she will most likely go head to head with Rep. Hensarling of Texas for the leadership position…..she will probably run an insurgent campaign because she will have little support among the old bulls of the Party……

Not everything will necessarily go so smoothly, though. There’s real potential for a power struggle on two of the Hill’s most powerful committees — Energy and Commerce and Appropriations. The current ranking member on Energy and Commerce, Joe Barton, is itching for a fight over the gavel, but he will be a political liability for Republicans, many of whom have battled with him in the past. After he apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward, Republican aides suggested that he’d be term limited out of contention for the chairmanship, but the party’s rules aren’t clear on that point. It could come down to the caucus to choose between Barton and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI).

Let us not kid ourselves…the Dems are in the middle of a power struggle too…..for minority leader of the House….so the Repubs are not the only ones looking for their day in the Ivory Tower we call…..Congress……

You see there are always power struggles within any political system…..but the few Tea Party candidates that won their election, if they hold true to their promises (and I am not holding my breath) then either the GOP bows to their will or takes them on….I see the latter…..

The Future “Weeper” Of The House

Now that the Dems have had their collective asses handed to them on a plate….what will happen now?  Will we finally get down to doing the business of the country?  Or will it be the same crap that was doing for the last two years?  Some analysts see a new day in American politics….I think they are just wishing for something new….I am afraid that they will be proven wrong…..it will be business as usual…..partisanship, obstructionism and more lies and half truths…..the usual stuff that comes out of Washington…..

I will bet that you, if you voted to “throw the bums out” are looking forward to the Repubs doing what they promised and emphasized……tee hee……dream on McDuff!

During the campaigns it was all about jobs jobs jobs….for that is what the people are most concerned with at this time in history……..but what will we get?  According to the new “Weeper” of the House, John Boehner…….

He called for fewer regulations on big business, continuing the Bush tax cuts for the rich, a freeze on government pay and hiring, trade deals with countries that violate human rights, an end to the extensions of unemployment benefits and an end to federal aid that is going to states to save the jobs of teachers, police officers and firefighters.

“The Boehner response is to keep tax rates where they are for the rich,” said Biden, “and cut all recovery spending, slashing 25 percent from domestic discretionary spending. We know two things about this program: It will kill more jobs than it creates; and it will add to, not subtract, from projected deficits.”

And then there was the comments made by the Senate minority leader McConnell who said that the nly thing we have to do is see to it it that Obama is a one term president..(paraphrased)……..he has also said that priorities are repeal and replace health bill, cut spending, shrink government size, and end bailouts……and yet…..NOT a word about what they say was the most important issue of the election….JOBS…….does this or the other thing sound like they are going to do anything differently?  Of course, it does not… and this is what I have been saying for 40 years or more……no matter which of the corrupt two parties is in power….NOTHING changes in the government except a few faces here and there……

Do you, as an American voter, really believe that the promise of change will ever come from a career politician in Washington?  Weeping will becoming a national past time and if you think career politicians have your back….. then may I prescribe a good dose of Prozac…after all I am a Doctor……