Pat Toomey and Bart Stupak now share something in common

In 2010, the Obamacare debacle was crammed down the throats of the American people but not before an alleged 'pro-life' Democratic congressman named Bart Stupack (D-MI) sold out. If you remember, the House version of the bill had a provisions in it that prohibited funding for abortion. That provision did not pass in the Senate's version.

The final vote was extremely contentious and arm-twisting was in no short supply. Even then, the Stupak dozen was the only thing that stood in the way of passage. Then, Stupak caved and settled for a meaningless Executive Order from Barack Obama that guaranteed no funding for abortion in the bill. In short, Stupak sold out to Obama.

Pro-life Democrats had been "Stupaked" and Obamacare became law.

In 2010, Stupak resigned; he did not seek reelection; The Tea Party helped get a Republican to replace him. Something else happened in 2010. The Tea Party got behind Pat Toomey to replace RINO Senator Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania. By all accounts, Toomey was a true conservative and had an "A" rating from the NRA. The Tea Party wave swept Toomey into office after Specter was so far behind in the polls that he switched over to the Democratic Party, where he thought he had a better chance of winning.

In 2012, Stupak expressed regret for what honest people would say was a betrayal.

Toomey apparently didn't learn the right lesson from Stupak because he has betrayed the gun rights crowd. Period.

Here in 2013, less than six months after the Sandy Hook shootings, several conservative Republican Senators had threatened to filibuster any bill that came to the floor. It would be Rand Paul times ten. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), and others pledged to join in. For once, it appeared that Republicans were going to stand united and go to the mat with the Democrats on something important.

All they had to do was stick to their principles and stand united. In fact, during such a filibuster, one of the Senators would likely stumble upon the contrast between how the Obama administration handled operation Fast and Furious and how it is exploiting Sandy Hook. It would be a tremendous opportunity to expose the administration. Perhaps that is why a filibuster would be so undesired by the Obama.

This is where Toomey appears to have channeled Bart Stupak. He came to a deal with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), a supposed pro-second amendment Democrat, on expanding background checks. A consequence of this deal is that the filibuster may be prevented. That Manchin caved to pressure is not surprising. That Toomey did very much is. He's not only a Republican. He was supposed to be a conservative Tea Party Republican who took a lot of money from the NRA in 2010 to get elected, in much the same way that Stupak accepted the support of pro-life Democrats

How do we know Toomey caved? Very simple.

Obama congratulated him and so did Michael Bloomberg.

The NRA is also not satisfied with the Toomey / Manchin bill.

Larry Pratt, the Executive Director at Gun Owners of America (GOA) says Toomey has "betrayed" (Stupaked) his constituents. Pratt is now calling for Toomey to be primaried:



By the way, for those who don't see expanded background checks as a big step toward confiscation, check out this firsthand account about what happened in Canada:

Is it time to investigate John Boehner?

"We need a select committee (on Benghazi). Every member of Congress - if you want to get to the bottom of this - should support a select committee." - Rep. Frank Wolf, 3/12/13

"To our leadership in the House, you're gonna have to up your game on Benghazi. - Senator Lindsey Graham, 3/15/18

House Speaker John Boehner is not doing his job... on many fronts... and needs to be replaced. It's become obvious on the Obamacare front that when it comes to de-funding it, the buck stops with Boehner and he's refused to accept it by attaching a de-funding mechanism to the Continuing Resolution. Instead, he's passed that buck again... to Barack Obama.

When it comes to investigating what happened in Benghazi, the buck is landing on Boehner's desk as well. It's beyond obvious at this point that there is a coverup taking place within the administration and if the House Speaker were truly interested in doing everything possible to blow a hole through the stonewall, he would form a Select Committee.

Like with Obamacare, Boehner is proving incapable of fighting.

Take note of the quote above from Rep. Frank Wolf, particularly this part:

"...if you want to get to the bottom of (Benghazi)..."

What followed from Wolf is something that only John Boehner can do - form a select committee. But that is something Boehner has refused to do.

If Wolf is right about a select committee being the way to get to the bottom of what happened in Benghazi, and Boehner doesn't form one, we are left to conclude one thing - Boehner doesn't want to get to the bottom of what happened in Benghazi.

With increasing frequency, it is becoming apparent that Speaker John Boehner's actions (and inactions) are benefiting the Obama administration greatly.

Not only is it time that Boehner be replaced but perhaps it's time to investigate him.

Transforming Obamacare into Boehnercare

If there's one thing that's been learned about Barack Obama, it's that not only does he avoid accountability but he's actually the one personally responsible for that which he is not blamed. If there is to be an exception to that rule - known as the 'Limbaugh theorem' - it would most certainly be something with his name actually attached to it - like Obamacare.

If there is a way for Obama not to accept responsibility for Obamacare, House Speaker John Boehner seems to be doing his level best to find it. In fact, when everything goes south and Obamacare becomes the disaster anyone with a functioning mass of synapses knows it will become, Boehner will at least be partially to blame because when he had the opportunity to de-fund it, he said no.

The Kabuki dance between Boehner and Paul Ryan was ridiculously transparent. Ryan, who had no power, talked tough while Boehner, who had all the power, punted. There is no doubt that Boehner wanted to hide behind Ryan's un-passable bill to defund Obamacare as the former refused to exercise his power to de-fund by demanding such a mechanism be part of the Continuing Resolution to fund the government for the next year.

Once again, in a game of chicken, Boehner always seems to blink first.

However, this time, as much as he'd like to, he can't duck it.

Note what he says in response to the question about including an Obamacare de-funding amendment into a Continuing Resolution that only serves to put the country into more debt. Boehner's reason for not doing so? Well, his goal is to cut spending, not shut down the government.

Uh, John, if the goal is to cut spending, wouldn't shutting down the government do just that better than anything else?

Via CNS News:

The Ryan Boehner two-step on Obamacare?

It's a tried and true Republican establishment practice. When your side is not in power, talk tough. When your side is not in power, seek compromise and acquiesce. Now we're seeing that principle at work within the Republican Party itself.

The latest example comes courtesy of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI). When it comes to de-funding Obamacare, Boehner has the power to actually either make it happen or oversee a government shutdown by allowing a vote on an amendment that would be added to the Continuing Resolution (CR), which would fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.

Why do we need a CR again? Oh yeah, because the Democrats haven't passed a budget.

That said, according to Byron York, when presented with the opportunity to tie passage of the CR to the de-funding of Obamacare, House Leadership (Boehner) not only refused to allow a vote on the amendment but that if he had, it would have passed. So, the man with the power to essentially de-fund Obamacare chose not to exercise that power.

Enter Ryan. In an obvious attempt to satiate overwhelming conservative opposition to Obamacare and make it appear that the House is doing all it can to de-fund it, Ryan introduced a budget which incorporates the de-funding ob Obamacare that he knows - as does Boehner - will not pass. To give House leadership the benefit of the doubt, it may be banking on a long-term strategy based on a self-evident truth that Obamacare will one day fail and Ryan's multiple budgets and predictions will be vindicated.

However, that's based on a flawed premise that liberals have the ability to admit when they're wrong. Moreover, the House Republicans are essentially doing nothing now in the hopes that they will be proven right when the country is in a shambles. Wouldn't a better idea be to do all you can now to prevent such a known outcome?

Here is Ryan talking tough when he can do so all day long without consequence because... his budget will not pass and Obamacare will not be de-funded.

Via CNS News:



Contrast that with Boehner last week, likely one day before the CR was passed without permitting a vote on the amendment to include Obamacare's de-funding. When asked if such an amendment would be part of the CR, Boehner not only didn't talk tough, he didn't even answer the question:

 

To demonstrate that Boehner knows how to talk tough when he's not in power, take a look at this from 2009, when he expressed OUTRAGE over the stimulus package, slamming the bill on the House Floor.

Why? Because it didn't matter and made for great theatrics:

Report: Boehner responsible for no De-funding of Obamacare

At a press conference on March 6th, House Speaker John Boehner did his best Jay Carney / Robert Gibbs impression when asked if there would be any must-pass legislation that would include the de-funding of Obamacare. The most obvious way to do this would be to leverage the Continuing Resolution by adding an amendment that says to continue funding the government, Obamacare would have to be de-funded. Boehne did what all politicians do when they don't like a question; he answered one that wasn't asked.

Now we know why. He had no plans to de-fund Obamacare despite his base's adamant insistence that he do so, despite the fact that had the amendment been introduced, it probably would have gotten overwhelming support.

Via Byron York at the Washington Examiner:

As the House prepared to consider its own version of the continuing resolution last week — it ultimately passed 267 to 151 — more than two dozen conservative GOP lawmakers signed on to an amendment that would have defunded Obamacare.  They submitted the amendment and hoped it would receive a vote but were stymied when the House leadership declared that no amendments would be allowed.

“If that amendment had gone to the floor, far and above a majority of the conference would have voted for it,” said Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon, one of the supporters, in an interview Saturday.  “I think everyone in the conference would have voted for it,” added Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis, another supporter.

Nevertheless, the Republican leadership did not allow the amendment to be considered.  And that, Salmon, DeSantis, and other conservative Republicans believe, is a measure of the leadership’s uneasiness with continuing the legislative fight against Obamacare.  Some Republicans — lawmakers who might have felt pressure to vote to defund Obamacare — believe privately that the fight is essentially over, and that the GOP should come to terms with the reality of national health care.

That lack of will to fight on the part of Republicans is what lost the 2012 election for them. Yet, they continue to double down on the behavior.

While many may be inclined to dismiss the allegations made about Boehner by former U.S. Congressman Bob Ney because the latter served jail time as a result of his relationship with Jack Abramoff, can you think of any better reason for Boehner's consistent unwillingness to fight?

Here's an interview with Ney on WND:

John Boehner's Inexplicable behavior continues

Since becoming Speaker of the House in 2011, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) has racked up a list of inexplicable - and sometimes egregious - behaviors that make one truly question his bonafides when it comes to leading. The latest example comes courtesy of his March 7th press conference, in response to a question about whether the House will include any defunding of Obamacare.

Boehner simply would not answer the question and in light of his past statements, it shouldn't have been a difficult question to answer.

Via CNS News:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would not say on Wednesday whether the Republican House leadership has any plans to curtail or de-fund any aspect of Obamacare in any must-pass legislation in this Congress.

This is despite the fact that Boehner himself declared a year ago that an Obamacare regulation requiring health-care plans to provide cost-free coverage for sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs was an unconstitutional violation of the free exercise of religion and that Congress would not let it stand.

Check out the video. Boehner's obfuscation was Jay Carney-esque:

 

Talking tough when it's of little consequence and then acting weak when it's put up or shut up time is a common trait among many politicians but Boehner has gone out of his way to set a new standard in this regard. In this particular case, Boehner is on record as saying Obamacare - as established - is unconstitutional. Yet, when asked if he will live up to keep his word that he "would not let it stand", the Speaker equivocated.

Why?

Whether intentional or not, the Speaker's words, behaviors, and actions have served to protect the Obama administration over and over and over.

For example:

• It became painfully obvious during the Fast and Furious investigation, that Boehner wanted no part of it; he wanted it to go away. He said extremely little publicly about the investigation and did more to help the Obama administration stonewall than he did to help Rep. Darrell Issa and the Oversight Committee break through it. When Issa needed Boehner the most, Boehner wilted. In the vote to find Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, Boehner did not vote; he also scheduled the vote on the same day as the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare, the same Obamacare he said was unconstitutional and would not let stand.
• Not long after that contempt vote, Rep. Michele Bachmann and four other congressmen identified then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's closest adviser - Huma Abedin - as someone having extensive familial ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Those who found Bachmann's claims to be warranted pointed to a laundry lists of irrefutable facts. Those who defended Abedin completely ignored those facts and impugned Bachmann. Boehner was one who defended Abedin and chastised Bachmann while ignoring those facts.
• The attacks in Benghazi on 9/11/12 continue to reveal more questions than answers. The administration has stonewalled the investigation in a way very similar to how it stonewalled Fast and Furious. The Republicans are in the minority in the Senate and are powerless when it comes to the formation of a Select Committee, made up of Senators from various committees. Boehner, on the other hand, has the power to form a House Select Committee but seems disinterested in doing so.
• On the day after the election, while still maintaining the majority in the House, Boehner publicly stated that the House he led would put 'revenues' (taxes) back on the table. This culminated in the 'fiscal cliff showdown' that involved closed-door meetings with Barack Obama.
• Not long after the 2012 election, Boehner booted conservative congressmen off of their committees. These congressmen represent the wing of the Republican Party that is most willing to take the fight to Barack Obama. Again, it was another move by Boehner that essentially helped the President.
• The subject of this post; his refusal to answer a simple question.

When it comes to budget showdowns, the perception always seems to be - save for sequestration - that Boehner has caved. It's quite possible that the reason he didn't cave on sequestration was that he knew there would be a bigger backlash than he was capable of absorbing, especially in light of the Continuing Resolution debate that looms on the horizon. Ironically, that CR is relevant when talking about defunding Obamacare, which Boehner seems reticent to do based on the March 7th press conference.

Speaking of sequestration...

Whether it's been TARP, Bailouts, raising the debt limit, CR's, or any other budget battle, conservatives always demand that Boehner and the Republicans not cave. Save for sequestration, Boehner and the Republicans always seem to do just that. In the case of sequestration, Boehner and the Republicans for once, didn't cave and look at what's happening.

Obama is losing the battle.

This is why the CR debate is so critical. Will Boehner learn from sequestration or will he revert back to doing things that serve to benefit the administration? If it's the latter, it will only add to his list of inexplicable behaviors.

'Duh' Video of the day: Bart Stupak wakes up over two years too late

Further proof that former Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) - a supposed 'pro-life' Democrat - knew he was wrong when he caved to Obama by accepting an Executive Order that was supposed to prevent abortions being covered by Obamacare. Every clear-thinking American knew that Stupak chose to save face over standing on principle.

Now, thanks to Red State, Stupak is captured on video at the Democratic National Convention, essentially conceding that the Executive Order is useless. While he doesn't go so far as saying so, it's clearly the consequence of his actions when the 'Stupak 12' agreed to vote yes on Obamacare as a direct result of that Executive Order, which Stupak says now that Obama isn't honoring.

Well, duh! That WAS the common refrain from the Tea Party at the time.

More than two years later, Stupak is no longer in Congress and he's a step closer to admitting he was wrong. Once he goes all the way, maybe he'll switch parties but don't hold your breath.

Via Red State:



For more background on what Stupak did to get Obamacare over the hump, go here, here, and here.

This is for you, Mr. Stupak: