House Republicans Release Their “Standards for Immigration Reform”

If there's never another Republican President, this will be one of the reasons why:

Behold the long-awaited “statement of principles,” hot off the presses at today’s House Republican retreat. There are no surprises, or at least not yet: The statement’s so light on specifics, especially in the crucial final sentence, that it’s impossible to guess how bad the final deal might be.

Although if you guess “pretty bad,” you’re almost certainly on safe ground.

Standards for Immigration Reform
PREAMBLE Our nation’s immigration system is broken and our laws are not being enforced. Washington’s failure to fix them is hurting our economy and jeopardizing our national security. The overriding purpose of our immigration system is to promote and further America’s national interests and that is not the case today. The serious problems in our immigration system must be solved, and we are committed to working in a bipartisan manner to solve them. But they cannot be solved with a single, massive piece of legislation that few have read and even fewer understand, and therefore, we will not go to a conference with the Senate’s immigration bill. The problems in our immigration system must be solved through a step-by-step, common-sense approach that starts with securing our country’s borders, enforcing our laws, and implementing robust enforcement measures. These are the principals guiding us in that effort.

Border Security and Interior Enforcement Must Come First
It is the fundamental duty of any government to secure its borders, and the United States is failing in this mission. We must secure our borders now and verify that they are secure. In addition, we must ensure now that when immigration reform is enacted, there will be a zero tolerance policy for those who cross the border illegally or overstay their visas in the future. Faced with a consistent pattern of administrations of both parties only selectively enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, we must enact reform that ensures that a President cannot unilaterally stop immigration enforcement.

Implement Entry-Exit Visa Tracking System
A fully functioning Entry-Exit system has been mandated by eight separate statutes over the last 17 years. At least three of these laws call for this system to be biometric, using technology to verify identity and prevent fraud. We must implement this system so we can identify and track down visitors who abuse our laws.

Employment Verification and Workplace Enforcement
In the 21st century it is unacceptable that the majority of employees have their work eligibility verified through a paper based system wrought with fraud. It is past time for this country to fully implement a workable electronic employment verification system.

Reforms to the Legal Immigration System
For far too long, the United States has emphasized extended family members and pure luck over employment-based immigration. This is inconsistent with nearly every other developed country. Every year thousands of foreign nationals pursue degrees at America’s colleges and universities, particularly in high skilled fields. Many of them want to use their expertise in U.S. industries that will spur economic growth and create jobs for Americans. When visas aren’t available, we end up exporting this labor and ingenuity to other countries. Visa and green card allocations need to reflect the needs of employers and the desire for these exceptional individuals to help grow our economy.

The goal of any temporary worker program should be to address the economic needs of the country and to strengthen our national security by allowing for realistic, enforceable, usable, legal paths for entry into the United States. Of particular concern are the needs of the agricultural industry, among others. It is imperative that these temporary workers are able to meet the economic needs of the country and do not displace or disadvantage American workers.

Youth
One of the great founding principles of our country was that children would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents. It is time to provide an opportunity for legal residence and citizenship for those who were brought to this country as children through no fault of their own, those who know no other place as home. For those who meet certain eligibility standards, and serve honorably in our military or attain a college degree, we will do just that.

Individuals Living Outside the Rule of Law
Our national and economic security depend on requiring people who are living and working here illegally to come forward and get right with the law. There will be no special path to citizenship for individuals who broke our nation’s immigration laws – that would be unfair to those immigrants who have played by the rules and harmful to promoting the rule of law.

Rather, these persons could live legally and without fear in the U.S., but only if they were willing to admit their culpability, pass rigorous background checks, pay significant fines and back taxes, develop proficiency in English and American civics, and be able to support themselves and their families (without access to public benefits). Criminal aliens, gang members, and sex offenders and those who do not meet the above requirements will not be eligible for this program. Finally, none of this can happen before specific enforcement triggers have been implemented to fulfill our promise to the American people that from here on, our immigration laws will indeed be enforced.

As expected, per the “Youth” section, there’ll be a special path to citizenship for DREAMers but not for adult illegals. As for the final line, what sort of enforcement triggers are we talking about here? “No legalization until there’s been a measurable 50 percent drop in illegal immigration over five years” would be a trigger worth considering. “No legalization until DHS submits a border-security plan,” which is basically what the Gang of Eight prescribed, wouldn’t be. There’s a lot of devil in these details.

Sean Trende of RealClearPolitics started tweeting in total mystification after the statement was released as to why the GOP would be pushing amnesty now, of all moments. If they were dead set on doing this before the midterms, he reasoned, why not do it last year, to give conservative anger more time to cool before the big vote? Failing that, why not wait until next year, after the midterms, since no one expects the Latino vote to be decisive this fall? I have no answers to the first question but you know my answer to the second. I think Boehner’s afraid that if they wait another year, until the GOP holds the Senate as well, conservative expectations for a “tough” Republican-written law will be so high that the backlash when they fail to come through will be even more bitter than it’ll be if they do it this year. In fact, as another Twitter buddy speculated, it may be that Boehner expects so many more tea partiers in the House and Senate next year that he feels he has to act now, before they’re seated. If he waits, tea partiers might be strong enough in 2015 to block the sort of bill that his friends in the Chamber of Commerce want written. When push comes to shove, he, Ryan, and the rest of the leadership think conservative/independent anger over ObamaCare will wash away all of their sins come November, including a mortal sin on immigration. Even if they sell you out on this, they figure, you’ll still go to the polls to rebuke Obama for the millions of cancellations and higher premiums that his pet boondoggle has stuck America with. And honestly? I’m not sure they’re wrong.

Update: Good catch by Greg Sargent. There’s no special path to citizenship here for adult illegals, but neither is there anything that would preclude them for applying for green cards and citizenship later on through existing channels. In fact, Paul Ryan signaled yesterday that they would be able to apply. Go figure that the leadership didn’t want to highlight that footnote in their statement.

RELATED:  House GOP leaders back limited path to legal status for illegal immigrants

Marco Rubio: Budget Deal Fails to Stop Washington Spending Problems

Breitbart.com:

Throughout our history, America has been a place where if you work hard and play by the rules, you can go as far as your God-given talents will take you. Those sacrifices help pave the way for your children and grandchildren to go even further.

This is the American Dream as we know it. It’s not an abstract goal, but an achievable way of life that is ours to protect and pass on to future generations.

Many Americans today are deeply worried that all this is changing for good – but not in a good way. This concern stems from the belief that the American Dream is slipping away and, with it, the chance to give our children and grandchildren a shot at an even better life.

Especially over the last five years, we have been told that a bigger and more powerful federal government is the way to fix this. But it has not. Instead, it has left us with a $17 trillion national debt and 20 million people out of work. It has left us with taxes that are too high and regulations that are too complicated. And it has left us with a government too broken to function and families that are falling apart because our government undermines the values of hard work, discipline, honesty and self-control.

We should never accept this as the new normal. We can reverse the insecurity, the lack of opportunity and the anxiety about the future. We can restore the American Dream.

Of course, these worries won't disappear overnight, with one speech or with one budget. But every day is filled with new opportunities to take some steps in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the House-Senate budget deal announced this week fails to take any meaningful steps to achieve a government with less debt and an economy with more good paying jobs. Not achieving these goals means it will continue to be harder for more Americans to achieve the American Dream.

This budget continues Washington’s irresponsible budgeting decisions by spending more money than the government takes in and placing additional financial burdens on everyday Americans. These burdens primarily come in the form of higher taxes disguised as fee increases, particularly on air travelers. Although user fees must sometimes be reevaluated to help pay for the rising costs of providing a government service, this budget deal's fee increases are simply designed to generate more revenues for government and to pay for unrelated increased spending on government programs.

In the short run, this budget also cancels earlier spending reductions that came about through the so-called sequester of 2011 in exchange for future promises of other spending reductions many years from now.  In other words, we have a government that’s $17 trillion in debt, which had to borrow an additional $680 billion this year to fund its annual deficit, yet this budget deal actually increases spending by $63 billion over the next two years, supposedly for spending cuts to be named later.

In 2011, I voted against the deal that included sequestration because it involved raising the debt ceiling without any meaningful spending reforms. But I have also been concerned about the deal's impact on key defense programs – cuts that imperil our security simply because Washington politicians refuse to set priorities and cut out wasteful spending. The American people should not be asked to choose between a strong military and responsible budgets that encourage job creation and reduce debt.

Instead of setting priorities based on the limited role government should be playing in our lives, this budget deal calls for higher spending and more revenue to feed a larger government. This is not a solution; it's an exacerbation of Washington's spending problem.

RELATED:  Boehner: These conservative groups who are objecting to the budget deal are “ridiculous”

John Boehner Calls LGBT Employment Non-Discrimination Act ‘Unnecessary’

Good job by our Speaker:

Before President Barack Obama delivered his announcement on administrative fixes to the Affordable Care Act, House Speaker John Boehner held a press conference of his own. Beyond expressing his own doubts about the administration’s ability to improve Obamacare, Boehner made news by addressing the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which passed in the Senate last week but will need to pass in the House in order to become law.

“I am opposed to discrimination of any kind–in the workplace and any place else,” Boehner told reporters. But, he continued, “I think this legislation–that I have dealt with as chairman of the Education Workforce Committee long before I was back in the leadership–is unnecessary and would provide a basis for frivolous lawsuits. People are already protected in the workplace. I am opposed to continuing this.” 

Boehner previously expressed his opposition to the bill through his spokesman, but this was the first time he spoke out publicly against it.

“Listen, I understand people have different opinions on this issue, and I respect those opinions,” Boehner added. “But as someone who has worked in the employment law area for all of my years in the statehouse and all of my years here, I see no basis or no need for this.”

While Republican opponents of the bill have claimed that it’s redundant, as the law stands now, there are 29 states where someone can be fired because of their sexual orientation without any legal protections. ENDA would make that practice illegal.

RELATED:  Hatch was wrong to support ENDA

Washington Burger King Only Hires Mexicans

Infowars.com:

A huge sign outside a Burger King fast food restaurant in Ephrata, Washington is causing outrage because of its racist tone. The billboard reads, “Now Hiring Must Be Mexican.”

The image was posted on KFFM 1073′s website, a radio station based in Yakima, Washington, alongside a poll which asked,”I’m not exactly sure of the reasoning. Maybe none of the current staff can speak español or perhaps they need to fulfill their EEO report, I’m not exactly sure. What do you think? Do you find this sign offensive or are you okay with their honesty.”

82 per cent of the respondents to the poll say that they find the sign offensive.

It’s possible that the managers of the restaurant meant to advertise for a bilingual or Spanish-speaking employee, but their choice of words is clearly discriminatory.

The sign has also prompted outrage on the fast food giant’s official Facebook page, with some people calling for a lawsuit and others demanding that the chain be boycotted.

“Tell all of Burger King to take their company to Mexico and abide by legal hiring practices here in the good ole USA – This is NOT MEXICO,” writes Mark Berreth.

RELATED:  Boehner dashes hopes of immigration talks

For Almost All in Congress, Government Shutdown Won’t Mean Losing Power in 2014

Mediaite.com:

Congress is less popular than car salesmen (the used variety). 

They are less popular than canals (the root variety). 

And less popular than colonoscopies (it’s assumed they’re referring to the prep portion). 

In the end, Congress’ approval rating currently stands at about 10 percent, according to a September 30th CNN poll. The government shutdown will drop that number even further. As a result, we keep hearing the same question asked on cable news this week: Why would a body so unpopular not try to do something, anything…to make themselves more likable? 

On the shutdown front, reports say there is no sense of urgency from either side of the aisle for a resolution.

Sure, the President just shortened a trip to Asia, but since declaring he isn’t willing to negotiate on anything, what’s the point in sticking around if meaningful dialogue (within these borders, anyway) is off the table? 

Back to the main point: So really, why would Congress risk sinking even further in the polls by allowing this shutdown to happen on its watch? 

Simple. 

There is no risk. 

Despite all the horrific poll numbers, did you know that 91 percent of members of the House get re-elected? The Senate is only slightly more of a ballgame, with 80 percent of its members getting another six years in power. In fact, in the past few election cycles, more incumbents have died in office than lost bids for reelection.

So when people ask why nothing changes inside the beltway, you now have your answer. Not unlike weathermen, they can be wrong more often than right and still get to keep their jobs. As noted in my last column that focused on the general public apathy around the shutdown, only 1/3 of Americans can name their member of Congress. 

Ah, but it’s better on the Senate side, right? Higher profiles and only two big names to remember for an entire state must be as easy to recall as the last two Super Bowl winners. 

OK, you saw this coming: Only 27 percent of the public can pass that test, according to a survey conducted by the New American Democracy last year. 

So while the public loathes Congress and the Senate, respectively, they aren’t particularly compelled enough–or inspired enough–or perhaps are too distracted–to actually do anything about it. 

As you know, branding is everything in this country: It’s what makes the Hillary Clinton machine so formidable (nearly 25 years in the national spotlight as First Lady, Senator, Presidential Candidate and Secretary of State). On the state and local level, it’s why an unknown has such a tough time knocking an incumbent out when trying to unseat him or her in the House or Senate. Very few folks vote in Congressional and Senate primaries (about 15 percent), making the wave of support needed to win almost impossible to form. 

Many in the media continue to ask how Congress can allow a shutdown to happen (and to a lesser extent, the President), who’s to blame, and most notably, who will pay the price at the polls come next year’s midterms. 

The answer to the last question—if history is any indication—is quite simple:

Hardly anyone. 

RELATED:  Shutdown crisis ignores the real problems

House Speaker John Boehner Tells ABC He Would Oppose Gay Marriage Even If Family Member Came Out As Gay

Mediaite.com:

During an exclusive Sunday interview with ABC, House Speaker John Boehner told Martha Raddatz that he is unwavering in his opposition to gay marriage and would not change his opinion on the subject if a family member came out as gay like Senator Rob Portman‘s son earlier this week. 

“Rob is a great friend and a longtime ally. I appreciate that he has changed his views on this but I believe marriage is a union of a man and a woman,” Boehner told Raddatz. 

Raddatz inquired what he would do if one of his relatives turned out to be gay. Would he he change his views on this subject? 

“I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. It’s what I grew up with it. It’s what I believe. It’s what my church teaches me. I can’t imagine that position would ever change,” he said.

Good for Speaker Boehner. Homosexuality is an unGodly behavioral choice made by individuals that is based on nothing but untethered lust. Changing your mind on an issue like "gay marriage" all because a family member chooses to engage in homosexuality is corny, lame and stupid because it shows that your principles can change on a whim. And while no sane conservative would ever tell someone to love your child any less because they choose to engage in homosexuality, accepting this unGodly act is the same as accepting them being an alcoholic or a drug addict or a rapist--love the sinner, hate the sin.

RELATED: GOP Sen. Rob Portman Reveals His Son Is Gay And He Now Supports Gay Marriage

Angry Black Woman Michelle Obama Rolls Her Eyes At John Boehner

It's not even about this being a "real moment", it's the fact that because Michelle Obama is nothing but a puppet for the white, social liberal agenda, the superficially-obsessed Left love to grace her with words like "classy" and "graceful" while obsessing over her fashion choices. But underneath it all Michelle Obama is a hoodrat and an angry, black woman who has openly expressed her disdain for politics and having to put up with being POTUS' sidekick. Conservatives know this all too well and now it's there (again) for all the world to see that this woman is a disgrace:

It was the body language heard around the world. 

First lady Michelle Obama was captured on video rolling her eyes twice in response to something House Speaker John Boehner said to her husband at the president’s Inauguration Day luncheon in the Capitol Building on Monday. 

While the substance of Boehner’s comments has not been revealed and cannot be heard in the clip, the first lady’s response to them has become the subject of intense fascination since Tumblr blogger Mattyrab first posted the video.

The soured relationship between the President and the speaker has received ample scrutiny, especially in light of the partisan standoffs over the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling, but before today little had been written on how the first lady and Boehner viewed each other.

As yet, neither the White House nor the speaker’s office has commented on what Boehner and the President had been discussing or why it elicited such a marked response from the first lady. 

Whatever the divergence of opinion, there was something that Boehner and the first lady agreed upon, however. 

 

"Michelle and the speaker of the House came to a meeting of the minds that I may be delaying the proceedings too much," Obama told the audience. "And so I'm just going to be extraordinarily brief and say thank you."

RELATED: Video: The obligatory “Michelle Obama rolls her eyes at Boehner” clip

Rush Limbaugh: Obama Wants The Republican Party To ‘Destroy Itself’

Mediaite.com:

On his radio show today, Rush Limbaugh concluded that President Obama is trying to get the Republican party to “destroy itself.” Why else, he reasoned, would he be trying to convince an ardently anti-tax party that they need to raise taxes on the wealthy in order to handle the fiscal cliff crisis? With Democrats pressuring the GOP to agree to tax increases in the fiscal cliff negotiations, Limbaugh could reach no other conclusion than the Democrats are trying to facilitate the destruction of their opposition. It would be a confession by the GOP taxing the rich more would do a lot to improve the economy.

Limbaugh made it clear that any sign of capitulation on the part of the Republicans will be, basically, driving a stake through the heart of their core principles and leave a distaste in the mouths of their supporters.

“If Obama succeeds and ends up getting a confession from Republicans that tax cuts are the problem, tax cuts are the cause, what happens to the next Republican who campaigns on tax cuts? Not going to have a prayer.”

Limbaugh attacked Obama and the education system for creating a “distortion” of American history to explain how the country’s economic woes are in part to blame on lower taxes on the rich. He brought up a poll finding that Obama has not only won the argument on taxes, but now a sizable chunk of Republicans believe the president has a mandate to raise taxes on the top one percent of Americans.

RELATED:  Report: Boehner willing to consider more tax revenue — in exchange for deeper entitlement cuts

Politiks As Usual: In The News 7/9/12

CNN’s Candy Crowley Grills Obama Advisor Over Anti-Romney Attacks Rated False

Obama Downplays Weak Jobs Report; Romney Blames Him For It

The Tax Man Cometh to Police You on Obamacare

Global Warming Blame-ologists Play With Fire

Excellent: All GOP Governors Elected in 2010 Reduced Unemployment

John Boehner: Voters Need Not Love Mitt Romney

Oliver Stone Makes Another ‘Juvenile Fantasy of Bullets, Breasts and Bongs’

U.N. Proposes Global Taxes to Fund ‘Global Challenges’ Such As Climate Change 

Nasty and Crass -- Critics Love 'Louie'

Harvard Crimson Issues Correction for Using Pronoun, Says Only Proper Nouns Appropriate

Presbyterians Reject Redefinition Of Marriage

Video: George W. And The Warriors

Politiks As Usual: In The News 1/23/12

Gabrielle Giffords Will Resign To Focus On Her Recovery

Newt Gingrich Pushes For Campaign Cash

Religious Liberty: The Latest Target of Obamacare

John Boehner: State of Union Speech May Be `Pathetic

Miss America Contestant Tepid About Occupy Wall Street, Loses Competition

Obama Administration Says No to Oil, Yes to Biofuels

Planned Parenthood Tries To Cash In On Mrs. Tebow's Choice To Pass On Abortion

Maureen Dowd: Obama Is 'Maddeningly Naïve' - His Presidency Has 'All the Joy of a Root Canal'

MSNBC's Bashir Superimposes Republican Candidates In Front Of Confederate Flag

Rick Santorum: No Pressure to Quit Race

GOP Race Is Now A Tossup

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno Passes Away

Politiks As Usual: In The News 9/19/11

Rep. Paul Ryan Accuses Obama Of Waging 'Class Warfare' With Millionaire Tax Plan

Liberal, Gay-Themed "Modern Family" Show Takes Home 5 Emmy's

Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist Resigns Over Global Warming

Target Black Unemployment With Enterprise Zones

Surprise! Perez Hilton's Kids Book Is Veiled Gay Propaganda

White House Denies Involvement In Solyndra Loan, Despite E-Mails Indicating Otherwise

Religious Broadcasters Complain Of Discrimination On The Web

Obama White House Not A Good Place For Women?

Liberal Press Gives Undue Attention To Single-Issue Boehner Primary Challenger

Bill Clinton: Cheney Trying To Cause 2012 Mischief

Every Single One: The Politicized Hiring Of Eric Holder's Appellate Section

Black Celebrities Talk About Encounters With Racism

Esquire: The Right Has Roger Ailes, The Left Has Jon Stewart

John Boehner's Request For Obama To Postpone Speech Was Not Unprecedented

Just another reason not to believe anything coming from the lamestream media:

Much of the media has been running with the claim that a president's request to speak to Congress has never been rejected until this week. Various Capitol Hill "historians" have been quoted saying that House Speaker John Boehner took unprecedented action when he cited the difficulty of hosting President Obama on the president's requested date of Sept. 7. We're not so sure.


The truth is that you don't have to go back that far in the nation's history to find a similar circumstance. And unlike the current speaker, who quickly agreed to host the president on the following day, Sept. 8, a previous holder of the gavel refused to grant the White House request, regardless of the date and time.


The June 24, 1986, edition of The Wall Street Journal featured a story headlined, "President's Bid to Address the House On Nicaragua Is Rejected by Speaker." That's right, no quibbling over the date and time, just a flat-out rejection. In that case, President Ronald Reagan wanted to address the House before its critical vote on funding for the anti-communist "Contra" rebels in Nicaragua. Then-Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neil said that he was willing to host a Reagan speech if it was expanded to include the Senate in a joint session, or he would allow the President to speak to the House alone if the President would also agree to take questions from lawmakers. Otherwise, there would be no Reagan speech in the House chamber. Reagan already had the votes to prevail in the Senate, and Mr. O'Neil wanted to avoid having the spotlight turned on the House, which would make him and his colleagues accountable to the public if Contra aid were rejected.


Both Speaker O'Neil then and Speaker Boehner this week were on very solid Constitutional ground. The president has no more right to take over the proceedings in the House, or to invite himself in, than does the speaker have the right to commandeer the president's time and attention within the White House. On this point, the meaning of a separate Article I and Article II in the Constitution couldn't be clearer.


A White House aide at the time tells us that Reagan simply shrugged off the rejection and said, "They have televisions up there on Capitol Hill, don't they?" He made his case on TV instead and then won the House vote to continue assisting the Nicaraguan freedom fighters.

RELATED: Speaker John Boehner Should Resign For His Unprecedented Insult To The President

Obama Signs Debt Bill, Heading Off Default

CNN.com:

President Barack Obama signed a last-minute compromise plan to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling Tuesday afternoon, narrowly averting what could have been an unprecedented default with calamitous economic consequences.


The U.S. Senate passed the plan, which imposes sweeping new spending cuts over the next decade, shortly after noon ET. The bill was approved in a 74-26 vote; 60 votes were required for passage.


The measure was approved by the House of Representatives on Monday by a 269-161 vote, overcoming opposition from unhappy liberal Democrats and tea party Republicans.


Obama praised the deal moments after the Senate passed it, calling the measure "an important first step for ensuring that as a nation we don't live beyond our means."


But the American economy "didn't need Washington to come along with a manufactured crisis," the president noted. "It's pretty likely that the uncertainty surrounding the raising of the debt ceiling -- for both businesses and consumers -- has been unsettling, and just one more impediment to the full recovery that we need. And it was something that we could have avoided entirely."


"Voters may have chosen divided government, but they sure didn't vote for dysfunctional government," the president said.


If the debt ceiling had not been increased before the end of Tuesday, Americans could have seen rapidly rising interest rates, a falling dollar and shakier financial markets, among other problems.

RELATED: Boehner: I Got '98 Percent' Of What I Wanted In Debt Deal

Politiks As Usual: In The News 4/11/11

Donald Trump Pushes For Obama's Birth Certificate

Gaddafi Accepts Peace Plan But Rebels Say He Must Go 


GOP, Obama Make 'Historic' Dead To Avoid Government Shutdown, Debt Cut


Texas May Ban Courts From Considering Foreign Laws


You Can Slaughter Christians, But You Can't Burn A Koran


J. Crew Pushes Transgender Child Propaganda

'Make No Mistake: I Oppose This Negotiated Dead,' Says Bachmann


Federal Judge Rules Against Anti-Gay Protesters, Gays Allowed To Adopt In Arkansas


Why No Outrage Over Democrat Saying Republicans Want To Kill Women?


Gov. Walker Vows: Unions Won't Steal Prosser Election Win


Why Conservatives Must Lead On Education Reform

Chuck Schumer Caught Telling Senators To Smear GOP, Speaker Boehner

It's like Schumer get his orders from Media Matters or something:

So much for civil discourse. Sen. Charles E. Schumer briefly revealed his true face Tuesday as reporters listened to him instruct fellow Democrats in how to paint Republicans and House Speaker John Boehner as extremist Tea Party zealots in the budget debates.


“I always use the word extreme,” Schumer told his fellow Democrats. “That is what the caucus instructed me to use this week.”


Republicans were quick to blast the remarks.


“It just lends to the fact to what we’ve always known, that this is a political game," said Rep. Allen West on Fox News. "It’s about gamesmanship, it’s about maneuvering, and it really is about politics. It’s not about doing what is best for the American people, it’s not about reducing the size and scope of the federal government so we can get back to have long-term, sustainable economic and job growth. I think Charles Schumer showed his hand. Now it’s up to the American people to realize who are really the ones who are standing as an obstacle for us to move forward.”


West added that Schumer, Harry Reid, and Obama want a shutdown so that they can use it to blame Republicans, and position themselves for 2012.


The brief peek behind the curtain came as Schumer was about to start a conference call with reporters on Tuesday morning, according to The New York Times. The No. 3 Democrat in the Senate was apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line when he began revealing what passes as strategic messaging for Democrats.

John Boehner: Obama's Conduct on Marriage Law ‘Outrageous’

Newsmax.com:

House Speaker John Boehner declares that President Barack Obama’s decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court is “outrageous” and vows that Republicans will intervene in the next few days.


Attorney General Eric Holder said last week that the Obama administration will not fight legal challenges to the constitutionality of the DOMA, which has banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage for 15 years.


Appearing on Greta Van Susteren’s Fox News Channel show on Wednesday night, Boehner was asked whether the GOP planned to hire a special counsel to “do the job that the executive branch won’t do.”


The Ohio Republican responded: “DOMA is the law of the land. It was passed overwhelmingly in both the House and the Senate. And I think it is outrageous for the president to say, well, we’re not going to enforce it. It’s the law of the land.


“It is the job of the Justice Department to defend the work of our government. I just think it is outrageous. We are looking at our options, what’s available to us to intervene.


“The long and the short of it is we are going to intervene. The question is how do we do it.”


Van Susteren asked whether Boehner has had any conversations with the president or attorney general about the DOMA. Boehner said simply: “No.”


Van Susteren: “So everyone’s going to find out later this week?”


Boehner: “I’m hopeful we will have an answer in the next couple of days.”

If conservatives don't realize by now how much Barry caters to his leftist base, they never will.

Politiks As Usual: In The News 2/28/11

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House Republicans Approach Shutdown Showdown Week

President Obama Throws Marriage Under The Bus

Celebrities Should Stick To Their Song And Dance

Alveda King: 'The Most Dangerous Place For An African-American Is In The Womb!'

Tax Porn? Not An Effective Deterrent

Media Ignore Muslim Brotherhood Role In Fomenting Anti-Jew Hatred & Pro-Hitler Sentiment

Bozell Column: Not Wrestling Girls

Harry Reid Calls For An End To Legal Prostitution In Nevada

Why We're Getting Robbed At The Oscars This Year

Bill O’Reilly Panel Gets Fiery Over GOP Treatment Of Obama Muslim Conspiracists

Mediaite.com:

Two years into the Obama presidency, the issue of where he was born and what religion he follows somehow continues to be an issue for many on the far right, and now House Speaker John Boehner is coming under fire for telling NBC’s David Gregory that it’s “not my job” to dispel those rumors. Bill O’Reilly dedicated his regular panel with Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham tonight to the matter, railing passionately about why giving the matter airtime was destructive.


The trio, who usually get along quite well despite their regular disagreements, appeared testier than usual tonight from the get-go, with Williams firing the first shots and wondering why Gregory was being criticized when he wasn’t the first to bring the matter up– it was, he argued Brian Williams– and the Republicans appear unable to distance themselves from the birthers and those who believe the President is Muslim. O’Reilly argued that the question wasn’t in order because “I don’t think this has any traction at all” and that the fringe that believes such things don’t have an impact on policy. To that Williams countered that there were nine Congressmen trying to legislate based on those believes. “They’re pinheads,” O’Reilly retorted.


Ham came to the floor from a completely different direction, noting that the criticism of Speaker Boehner was illustrative of a “double standard” when Chris Matthews had called to see the President’s birth certificate and Bill Maher had noted he did not believe the President was Christian, but a secular humanist. Here Williams’ point applied more than O’Reilly’s, though the two did not intersect much– the problem, as Williams explained it, was the influence in Congress. Neither Matthews nor Maher have the kind of influence (or any, really) on Congress that Boehner has, nor are they elected. O’Reilly also continued to argue that the entire discussion did not matter, while Ham, in the process of O’Reilly rebutting her claims, appeared more impatient than usual, dramatically rolling her eyes while she waited to speak.


But while Ham was rolling her eyes and O’Reilly’s “straight talk” was somewhat elevated, the panel didn’t really lose their patience until Williams proposed that there was “coded language” in what the Speaker was saying, or at least in what he was refusing to condemn. At this point, O’Reilly cradled his forehead in rage and proceeded to insist, after six minutes of talking about it, that giving the issue any airtime was a complete waste. “The issue doesn’t matter,” he insisted, “it doesn’t matter. Sane, clear-thinking people understand that the President is not a Muslim and he wasn’t born in Indonesia or whatever they’re putting out there. So why does Meet the Press and NBC News take up valuable airtime to hammer a guy who has nothing to do with it?”


The discussion ended with O’Reilly telling Gregory off in the persona of Speaker Boehner, wondering why the Speaker hadn’t done the same. Not the most peaceful day on the ranch for this panel.

Politiks As Usual: In The News 2/14/11

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Mouths Lyrics To Songs, Talks On Phone

What's The Difference Between Accused Killers Jared Loughner And Kermit Gosnell?

Rep. Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

Berkeley Officials Invite Guantanamo Bay Detainees To Live In City

AP Pushes Pro-Islam Entertainment Propaganda

Donald Trump At CPAC: 'Who Said I'm Pro-Choice?'

Push To De-fund Planned Parenthood Gaining Momentum

CNN Shows Muslim Brotherhood Member Defending Violence Against Israel

Speaker Boehner: "It's Not My Job To Tell" Americans That Obama Is Not A Muslim

George Soros, Nazi Obsessive

Rep. Ryan: Obama 2012 Budget Savings 'Paltry'

Donald Rumsfeld Opens Up About Mistakes In Iraq

Republicans, John Boehner, Not Off To A Good Start

Now this is the stuff Speaker Boehner needs to be crying over. I mean when you're handing Barry & Co. lay-ups like these for the past week, it becomes no wonder most think it's a cinch The One will get another term come 2012:

It usually takes a lot longer for the party in charge to start with the finger-pointing, the failed votes and the backpedaling on campaign promises.


But the House Republican majority has already had two failed floor votes, is experiencing a backlash on the right over spending cuts and has bypassed the committee process it once praised for taking up major bills.


And that’s all just this week.


These initial flubs in the first month of the GOP majority are mainly public relations embarrassments — but Republicans may face much more substantial problems quelling an uprising over the debt limit and corralling conservative votes on the budget bill known as the continuing resolution, measures that are essential to keeping the government operating. The miscues indicate that House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and other Republican leaders have a harder job than they bargained for managing an unwieldy, activist group of nearly 90 freshman lawmakers.


And the sudden resignation Wednesday of New York Rep. Christopher Lee, just hours after suggestive photos of him appeared on a gossip website, further demonstrated a GOP conference that continues to bumble its way through the opening chapter of the 112th Congress.


“The new majority has different leadership than the last time we actually were the majority. [They] have to make their own way, they have to make their own decisions, set their own policies,” said Florida Rep. Bill Young, a 38-year veteran of the House. “There’s a learning curve for leaders. There’s a learning curve for members.”


Boehner, who has tried to project an image of serenity throughout the opening weeks of this Congress, tried to downplay the challenges.


“We’ve been in the majority four weeks,” Boehner told reporters Wednesday morning. “We’re not going to be perfect every day.”


Democrats, however, are gleefully sending out press releases with the word “disarray” in the subject line, and Wednesday afternoon, the subcommittee chairmen of the House Appropriations Committee — traditionally known as “cardinals” — held an emergency meeting to seek ways to cut more than the approximately $40 billion being targeted so far. A senior GOP aide said “there are a lot of moving parts” as the leadership is working with the Republican Study Committee, freshmen and appropriators to find $100 billion in cuts.


“Governing is a bitch,” joked a top House Democrat, showing no sympathy for his GOP counterparts.