"We're going to count on the judges." – House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R., TX) speaking after it became obvious that the Republican controlled Congress's legislative attempts had failed to tie the FY 2015 funding of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to BO's executive actions that removed the immediate threat of deportation for millions of illegal immigrants & provided other benefits to illegal immigrants like the issuance of work permits & Social Security cards, & providing cash in the form of tax refunds even for years when no income tax return had been filed.
"The good news is that the president's executive action has been stopped, for now. This matter will continue to be litigated in the courts, where we have our best chance of winning the fight." – The thought Speaker John Boehner conveyed to his caucus behind closed doors when he realized BO had won another round in the immigration fight described above.
"The Senate has now done all it can do given their unique procedural constraints. It is clear that the legislation before us, while not exactly what the House wanted, is the only path forward to avoid a potentially devastating shutdown." - Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson speaking about the House vote extending DHS funding until September 30, 2015 without a measure to block BO's executive actions on immigration.
"I think that our supporters, our constituents out there, they are disappointed that we talk tough rhetoric, that we are going to fight tooth & nail, & then we ultimately roll over @ the end of the day." – LA Congressman John Fleming talking to reporters about the DHS funding – immigration legislation that gave BO everything he wanted on the matter.
H R 240 YEA-AND-NAY 3-Mar-2015 3:14 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Recede and Concur in the Senate Amendment
BILL TITLE: Making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and for other purposes
| YEAS | NAYS | PRES | NV | |
| REPUBLICAN | 75 | 167 | 3 | |
| DEMOCRATIC | 182 | 6 | ||
| INDEPENDENT | ||||
| TOTALS | 257 | 167 | 9 |
In the middle of the afternoon this past Tuesday the House retreated from several previous positions regarding tying the FY 2015 funding for DHS with measures to block BO's executive actions regarding immigration & passed a clean DHS funding bill (i.e., without mention of BO's immigration executive actions). The House relented & concurred with a Senate Amendment to a previous House bill (HR 240) that extended the date of the funding for DHS until the end of the fiscal year & did not mention the immigration issue thereby notching another win for BO over the Republican controlled Congress who simply does not have the numbers to bring cloture in the Senate (six votes short) or cannot override BO's veto in either Chamber (45 votes short in the House & 13 votes short in the Senate).
An analysis of the House Final Vote Results above & the Senate Vote Summary below shows that Republicans were faced with the choice of passing a clean DHS funding bill or shutting down DHS to some degree. BO & the hostile anti-American media would have made sure that eventuality would not have worked out for Republicans. No matter how tough Ted Cruz, Jeff Sessions, or Steve King talk Republicans simply do not have the votes to control the outcome they prefer in the Senate or to override any of BO's vetoes without the help of Democrats.
For instance, last Wednesday the Senate's attempt to override BO's veto of the Keystone XL pipeline legislation fell five votes short of the 67 votes needed. As an aside - after all of BO's unconstitutional power grabs @ the expense of Congress BO added insult to injury by saying the legislation "conflicts with established executive branch procedures" as part of his reason for vetoing the bill. This from a man whose every move virtually conflicts with the procedures in the Constitution.
In the the above House Final Vote Results Speaker John Boehner was one of the 75 Republican Yea votes & he needed virtually every Democrat vote to pass the bill he presented on the House floor – more than twice as many Republicans voted against the Speaker than voted with him. This is a losing hand for Republicans.
The Senate Vote Summary is below & it also indicates a no win situation as described above (i.e., government shut down or capitulation). KY Senator Rand Paul did not vote which shows his dissatisfaction with the bill but that does not help America move forward because BO will win every one of these battles in the world of public opinion.
Senate Vote Summary | Question: | |||
| Vote Number: | 65 | Vote Date: | March 2, 2015, 05:56 PM |
| Required For Majority: | 1/2 | Vote Result: | Motion to Table Agreed to |
| Measure Number: | H.R. 240 (Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 ) | ||
| Measure Title: | A bill making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and for other purposes. | ||
| Vote Counts: | YEAs | 58 |
| NAYs | 31 | |
| Not Voting | 11 |
Now it is bad enough that BO has all the numbers stacked in his favor as mentioned above regarding cloture & veto proofing – the immediate two big ones. Next you have to add in that BO has proven untrustworthy & there is no indication that he would faithfully execute any agreement (i.e., bill) that Congress passes such as comprehensive immigration reform that starts with securing the borders (I don't even know what that means but I do know BO would interpret it & enforce it to the Democrat advantage without any concern with how secure anything was). We do know that BO would more than faithfully follow (he would dutifully follow) the provisions of any such bill to promote & provide welfare benefits, paths to citizenship & voting, or other destructive measures to the apathetic citizenry who has no grasp of the totalitarianism that is coming. It is only the capitalistic power of free enterprise that has allowed the country to continue this long – without this economic power we would have been overrun long ago.
The Founders made clear that the citizenry is sovereign so how has all of this happened? Simple – people like the government programs that they are dependent upon. There are just too many government programs that more & more people like more & more every day. In fact even the comprehensive immigration issue has a 70% favorability rating (53% favorability rating among Republicans) that includes some form of conditional amnesty. Source Pew as reported by Jason Riley in the WSJ on March 4.
For most of our history each branch of the federal government would protect their own functions specified in the Constitution but with the emergence of BO's ideology people like Harry Reid & Nancy Pelosi moved from protecting congressional authority to supporting an ideology that they had waited for all of their lives. Hamilton writes in The Federalist No. 78 "the legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties & rights of every citizen are to be regulated." At the time of our founding there were few laws so when Congress exercised the power of the purse there were not millions of people complaining about one government program or another being taken from them – an entirely different world from today.
Based on observing BO the past six years makes clear he is an imperial president with nearly all the power – executive actions with his pen & phone come easy with little chance of a successful challenge as described above regarding immigration. Congress originally had some power & function but the power of the purse has faded as more people preferred the benefits of government welfare programs instead of Congress showing financial responsibility & a check on the president's power. Just look @ the ease with which BO paints Republicans into corners & then plays golf without a care in the world holding high favorability ratings while Boehner sweats bullets saying "I need this job like I need a hole in the head." A good image of who is winning.
The only exception is that both elected branches rely on & even run to the judicial branch to resolve disputes as if they were some impartial body of infinite wisdom the Founders intended to decide such matters – this newfound power of the judicial branch mostly works in tandem with the elected branches to make sure the electorate does not bear the full consequences of their votes thereby continuing the 21st century illusion of the sovereignty of the people - the vast majority of which are not really sovereign over anything & are only capable of being led to apply for the next government dependent program.
All of the above is important & obvious to anyone paying the least bit of attention. But the biggest issue in all of this is somewhat hidden; to wit, the reliance on the courts by the Republican Congress to settle matters best handled by Republicans winning elections that give them majorities to effectively govern.
It is bad enough that there are so many 5 to 4 Supreme Court decisions with the votes cast not along legal lines but rather along ideological lines 4 to 4 with one swing voter. Now assume that a Democrat wins the presidency in 2016 & holds the office for eight years. Scalia (79) & Kennedy (78) are not young men even now. Just think what would happen by decisions rendered by a 6 to 3 statist court where the Republicans have no chance of winning on any issue whatsoever.
As I see it - Republicans hold large majority in House, but they are not united..splinter groups - each having their own agenda - not good for the party. See what develops.
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