“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with [...]
The Debt Ceiling/Budget Disaster is becoming nothing more than an opportunity for Politicians to use BULLY TACTICS to try and get their way, and both sides are following Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel’s advise on how to do it: “Never let a Crisis go to Waste.” Here’s the Crisis: on August 2, [...]
“(The President) shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and [...]
Do you remember why our Constitution defines TWO Chambers of the Legislative Branch? Senator Bill Nelson and 17 Others sure don’t, so it’s time for a reminder!
According to The Hill.com, the Senate failed to pass an extension of the Federal Unemployment Benefits. Intended to help stimulate the economy and help those who were affected by the earliest impacts of the Recession, these benefits were not expected to last forever, so it’s really no surprise that they weren’t extended today…except by the people who have been receiving them.
The Former Speaker of the House Thomas Philip “Tip” O’Neill, Jr., coined an important phrase during his political career: “All Politics is Local,” and our FOUNDERS would have agreed with that. In fact, it was the basis of our “Republican” form of government. Each Member in the House of Representative was intended to be the elected voice of the constituents of their individual districts. Each member of the House was intended to be responsible to those constituents for their actions, their choices, and every word they spoke as a Representative of those voters. And when the 17th Amendment took the power to select Senators away from the State Legislators, also elected by the People of that State, and, instead, put that power into the hands of those People directly, it made those Senators equally responsible to those People as well. As a result, all Politics, no matter whether they are related to the City, the County, the State or the Presidency, are, in fact, Local!
In the time since our financial troubles started in 2008, our Government has repeated the same mistakes over and over again, each time going bigger and more expensively than the time before. TARP? STIMULUS? HEALTHCARE REFORM? FINANCIAL REFORM?! In each case, the margin for passing the bill was so narrow that it literally came down to one or two votes in order to get he deal passed…all with the very VOCAL opposition of the American People, and all in the name of being COMPASSIONATE.
Should we act surprised, like a kid who snuck a peak at the Christmas Presents hidden in his parents closet and then opened the gifts Christmas morning, or should we just accept the fact that EVERYONE knew long ago that Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida and 2010 Senate Hopeful, has decided to dump his long-time Republican Association to run as an Independent? Should we pretend that we didn’t know it was coming? After all, yesterday’s announcement was nothing more than a dog and pony show, intentionally waiting until the last possible moment to confirm what everyone suspected for weeks. Much in the same way his VETO of Florida State Senate Bill 6 was held until a Thursday to make sure it got the most media buzz, his actions were completely anticipated. (Perhaps we should call April 29, 2010 “Crist-mas!”)
