This House is Out of Control

The headline question in the Washington Post this morning is: Who controls the house?
by Charlie Leck

The question is not about my house. That answer is clear in regard to my house and it ain’t me! The sweet lady who has grown old with me controls everything –even me!

Things should be so clear in the U.S. House of Representatives. They are not. When you look at the dizzying, wild, mucked-up situation, you are tempted to say: “No one is in control!”

The amazing thing is, you’d be correct! There is no one in control at the U.S. House of Representatives and that’s why we are having such a mess.

John Boehner would like to be in control. He sometimes thinks he’s in control. John Boehner is not in control.

There is speculation that the majority leader in the House, Eric Cantor, is the man in charge. It’s possible. Lord, let’s hope not, but it is possible.

John Boehner is dangerous because he just a fool and an oaf (see definition here)—synonyms are churl, boor, dolt and ninny).

Mr. Cantor is bright and smart as a whip. The problem is that he is also stubborn and determined – so stubborn and so determined that he is dangerous. Cantor is also a conceited cuss – much in love with himself and his abilities – and he thinks he can bring the current government down and replace it with another tomorrow. He doesn’t get it that he is not in England and that our system does not work that way.

The Republicans, under the lead of Eric Cantor (and not John Boehner) are doing great damage to the country while cannibalizing themselves. As Republican Representative Peter King (NY) has observed: “We didn’t get anything! This has been a total waste of time…. I think they think they won something. Whatever echo chamber they live in, they’re only hearing good things.

A Republican Senator from Missouri emphasized it even more: “The only reason the Democrats don’t look terrible is that we look worse!”

Who controls the House? No one! It is out of control!

The Republicans are determined to damage the nation! They’re hoping it might also do great damage to a President they abhor!

They have forgotten how the system works. This President beat your man up good in the last election campaign and in the election itself. HE is the President and you must live with that. You Republicans are being as foolish as a selfish child who will stamp his feet and scream his lungs out until his parents, exasperated, give in to him and his demands. You deserve a spanking! I hope you get it in November 2014.

In the meantime, in our own house here on the edges of the metropolitan Twin Cities of Minnesota, we have no furnace (our furnace was removed two days ago) and winter is fast approaching. A new system is supposed to be installed and working by the end of today. It won’t be. Our HVAC company is still awaiting its delivery. A geo-thermal system is being installed out in the yard. It was supposed to be finished last night and ready for hook-up to the new heating system today. It was not. The drilling company hit some kind of snags. They left quietly last night without muttering a word to us. We must await their return this morning. It is still totally dark outside as I write this. I have two grandchildren who are coming today to spend four evenings with us while their parents slip away on a business/vacation trip. How shall we keep them warm?

This house is out of control, too! I have too much to worry about without having to worry about the crazies in the Republican Party as well!

Mr. Cantor and Mr. Boehner, you are both slugs who deserved to be thrown out of office. I hope, when November comes, you will be!

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Blame it on Boehner

The Tea Party is a nasty force in American politics, but it is small and can’t prohibit significant legislation from being passed when the traditional Republicans and Democrats work together on important matters!
by Charlie Leck

I won’t go on and on here. I’ll lay it out plainly. John Boehner, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is to blame for the mess we are in now. Had he allowed a vote last week on spending, the budget and extending our line of credit, things would now be solved. There were enough Republicans and Democrats in agreement in the House that they would have passed something that the Senate would have found acceptable.

The Speaker holds great power in the House and he would not allow such a vote to take place. He thinks he can use this crisis to beat the President over the head enough that he’ll get significant compromises out of the White House. He won’t!

End it Mr. Speaker! Get it over with now. Stop using the Tea Party to achieve your petty goals.

If you want more details, here’s an article that appears in this morning’s Washington Post that details just how Boehner could do this… “Boehner could end the shutdown now, but he’s got his eyes on a bigger threat!”

Here’s an observation made by Robert Costa of the National Review…

“I think John Boehner is frustrated by leading the Republicans in the House, but I think he very much loves being speaker. To understand him you have to understand that. … He loves being a major American political figure, but he’s not a Newt Gingrich-like figure trying to lead the party in a certain direction. He’s just trying to survive and enjoy it while it lasts.”

We should have hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of emails going to John Boehner, telling him to end the shutdown. Ways to contact him, including email and a toll-free telephone number, are listed here.

In yesterday's blog I provided a list of those members of Congress who affiliate themselves with the Tea Party.

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Sandy is a Great Example of Republican Failure

Don’t blame me for the title of this posting, and don’t blame Democrats either. The strong words come from Republicans!
by Charlie Leck

And that’s only the beginning folks. The Republican Party is weighing in on the leadership of the majority party in the House of Representatives; that is, on Speaker John Boehner, one of their own. The verdict is not pretty.

The 112th Congress is history. It recessed without a vote on aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. It’s historic. Relief packages are normally easy things to pass. Americans are in need somewhere and they need the help of other Americans. The way we do it is through the U.S. Congress – just as we did with New Orleans and the larger gulf coast after Katrina. People on Staten Island, Long Island and the southern New Jersey coast, needed that aid money. Fix-up and clean-up in those areas is stalled because of the lack of funds and Americans from all parts of the country are angrier than hell at the Tea Party branch of this Congress for holding up this vote and these funds.

It’s my hope that the Tea Party went too far this time. The relief bill had all the votes it needed to pass. Leader Boehner didn’t bring the vote to the floor because of his fear of the Tea Party. The Grand Old Party has got to clean up its own house before it tells other politicos how to care for themselves. Enough already! Enough!

A poll in the Washington Post this morning asked: “Whom do you blame for Washington’s difficulties in making a debt deal?” The response options were (1) Democrats, (2) Republicans, (3) Both or (4) Neither or Other. By 6:00 A.M. (EST) morning than 24,000 people had already responded to the survey and 72 percent of them blamed the Republican Party, while 17 percent said both.

The Tea Party is made up of obstructionists and isolationists. Should their lead be followed, the nation would back up to a time and place that would crash our economy and throw us into vile class wars. They are locked on to a set of principles that will not work in a nation that must unite, lead and call for the cooperation of 50 different state governments. When a minority political group uses its power to thwart the generous, wholesome and caring will of the people, we’ve got a big problem.

Republican New Jersey Governor, Chris Christy, came down hard on Republicans yesterday for allowing a group of weak-kneed Tea Party advocates to obstruct action on the relief bill that would have helped his state recover from this tragic storm. This is a state, along with New York, that contributes an enormous amount of money to the federal treasuries each and every year – far, far great than that of almost all other states in the nation.

My own Congressman, a Republican, is showing himself to be a jerk and one of these obstructionists. We’ll remind people of this when the next election rolls around in 2014. Congressman Erik Paulsen voted against the fiscal cliff bill and he laid low on the question of granting aide for Sandy Relief before this Congress recessed. He’ll deny any leadership responsibility, but he won’t be able to avoid the fact that he was stone-cold silent about doing something to help New York and New Jersey.

Paulsen should have had the courage to stand up and protest the inaction of Congress, as conservative Representative Tom Reed of upstate New York did: “There is not a better purpose of the federal government than for [it] to stand with our citizens when they are suffering the most.”

Leadership in the Republican Party has got to wake up. They are out of touch with the will and spirit of the American people. John Boehner must go! Someone more from the center of the party should be elected to the Speaker’s chair. The change must come when the new Congress convenes later this month.

Four telephone calls from Governor Christie to John Boehner were ignored and unreturned on Tuesday night. Christie exploded in anger about the Speaker’s lack of leadership.

“This used to be something that was not political,” Christie said, with anger firing up his eyes. “Disaster relief was something you didn’t play games with.”

If you will please remember, it was Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for the office of the Presidency, who suggested in the recent campaign that role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency ought to be ended and its work transferred instead to the individual states. What shear, unadulterated BS, but it is what the Tea Party advocates are quietly saying to each other.

If you want to hear Governor Christie blast Speaker Boehner and his own Party, you can watch a video of it here… “Sixty-six days and counting,” the Governor said!

If that isn’t enough for you, watch Republican Peter King ask people of New York and New Jersey to refuse to give any contributions to his own party – “not one penny,” King said.

“Sometimes,” King said, quoting John F. Kennedy, “party loyalty demands too much!”

Indeed!

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The Blame Game

My, oh my! The blame game has begun and so has the political posturing. Just think, in only three and one-half years you get to listen to all of this yet again!
by Charlie Leck

Mitch McConnell
urges the President to move to the center! My goodness! Mitch, I hope you’ll make that distant move as well.

Bill Clinton
was remarkable on the campaign trail. It’s reported – I hope correctly – he wants to mentor the President a bit in Mr. Obama’s second term. Good! I doubt the President could get better advice! Work with him, Mr. President.

Tammy Baldwin
becomes the first openly gay woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. Something about that pleases me. Perhaps it’s the diversity.

Heidi Heitkamp
is elected to the Senate in North Dakota. The country is changing rapidly folks and, again, it pleases me. North Dakota elects a woman? And, she’s a democrat! Women will hold twenty seats in the U.S. Senate. That’s a record number. Good for the Senate! I mean it! That will be good for the Senate. It’s good for America, too!

Mazie Hirono
was elected to the U.S. Senate in the state of Hawaii. Not only is she a woman, but she is also Asian-American. Diversity! I like it.

Maggie Hassan
was elected Governor up in New Hampshire. The state has two women U.S. Senators – Ann McLane Kuster and Carol Shea-Porter, and now has two women in the House of Representatives – Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat) and Kelly Ayotte (Republican). There’s lots about this election that makes my heart sing! New Hampshire's entire U.S. delegation is female.

Hillary Clinton
is a remarkable Secretary of State and has served the President well. She’s indicated she wants to step down now. I wish she wouldn’t. My blogging friend, Tony Rugare, thinks Hillary will be the next President of the United States. I don’t agree with him, but I hope like all-get-out that he’s correct.

Nate Silver
who analyzes election polling results for the New York Times (FiveThirtyEight) got it completely right this year. He predicted every single state correctly. In 2008 he got everyone of them correctly predicted except Indiana (which went for Obama)

John Boehner,
the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, seemed to show some flexibility on the day after the election. He called for some chats with the President and said it will take time and hard work, but they should be able to work together. Boehner said he is flexible about identifying new revenues. I think Mr. Boehner may have heard America speaking!

Harry Reid
wants to dance. The leader of the U.S. Senate said it’s better to dance than to fight. Dancing with Mitch McConnell doesn’t sound like the most attractive thing in the world, but go to it Harry and let’s show some cooperation in building a better America.

Hurricane Sandy
is being blamed by many Republicans for their defeat in the presidential race. Whatever! If you need a scapegoat, why not a weather phenomenon? Lots of Romney’s biggest donors are blaming his campaign staff and say that they weren’t up to the task. I may as well add my two cents worth. I blame it on the women of America who voted overwhelmingly for Obama; and on the black population which came out in droves to support Mr. Obama; and on the Latino population who saw more hope for a just America in Obama than in Romney; and on gays and lesbians; and on left-handed violin players… (enough)!

Chris Christie,
Governor of New Jersey, is being blamed by many Republicans for being too respectful to the President when Obama visited there after the hurricane passed through. Well, now, isn’t that just a lot of crap! Common’ fellas! We’re supposed to show respect for the President.

The Tea Party
folks are really upset at Romney. They say that Romney just didn’t carry their message at all. Had he stayed on message, the Tea Party leaders say, he would have won the election. There should have been no moving toward the center. As the kids say these days, OMG!

An idiot,
at an election night party I attended, blamed Romney’s defeat on “those damned blacks!” I sarcastically reminded him that the “Latinos” played a role as well. And the “frickin’ liberals,” too! And, the “pink people with all the white polka-dots.” Perhaps, too, the “overly happy people” – you know, the gay folks! The hostess for the evening quickly separated us and sent us to neutral corners.

Mississippi
made an utter fool of itself. Down there in my least favorite state in the Union, a protest sprung up at the University of Mississippi against President Obama’s reelection. Lots of naughty language and racial slurs were reported. The police showed up and a couple of people were arrested. The president of the University correctly pointed out that it was not representative of the student body and that only a small number of students were involved. A counter demonstration sprung up calling for racial harmony. Well, good for Mississippi! More of that and I may change some of my opinions about the state.

Move to Minneapolis!
A story posted on Slate yesterday suggested that folks move to Minneapolis if they feel like they’re paying too much rent. Not only does Minneapolis (and the entire Twin Cities) offer some of the best rental rates in the country, according to the story, but we also offer some attractively “low Midwestern prices” on other essentials as well. There are also jobs in Minnesota for the well-trained. However, it will cost you a bit to purchase a heavy coat, stocking cap and some good snow boots. Welcome to winter wonderland!

Rich Madaleno,
a gay state senator from Maryland, will now have the opportunity to get married. His state, in Tuesday’s election, approved same-sex marriage in its state. Hooray for Maryland! Congratulations, Rich. Send me an invitation, will you? I’d love to be there.

Karl Rove
lost his cool and his temper on-the-air on Tuesday night after FOX News called the State of Ohio a win for President Obama. There was an ugly little confrontation between Rove and one of the FOX commentators. I’m sure it was a low moment for Rove. After all, he had orchestrated the most expensive advertising assault on a sitting president in history. It should be said that Mr. Rove quickly regained his composure and went on to explain why the networks had to be careful about such declarations – that they report on the elections and not become a part of them (e.g., Florida in 2004).

Paul D. Ryan,
I suspect, will inherit a great deal of blame for the loss. It’s an easy thing to do, but it’s also unfair. Ryan did what was expected of him. Now Ryan will return to the House of Representative and he will serve well the people of Wisconsin. Remember, he chairs the House budget committee and he’ll be very involved in day-to-day discussions with the President about how we are going to dig our way out of this deficit (caused mainly, in my opinion, by two very expensive wars and an out-of-control “military-industrial complex”). Mr. Ryan has a differing opinion.

SCOTUS
(the Supreme Court of the United States) inherits the blame for the insane amount of money that was spent on the 2012 presidential election (and on other national and local elections as well) because of its decision in Citizens United. Campaign spending in the United States is out of control and equals, in many cases, the entire national budget of some nations. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Vermont, urges a national referendum to overturn that decision and a return to regulated campaign expenditures. Support him!

For this morning, that’s enough!

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The Payroll Tax Cut

There is a strange argument going on in Washington about the renewal of the payroll tax cut for the middle class!

by Charlie Leck

There’s a strange debate (or argument) going on among Republicans and Democrats in Washington right now – very, very strange indeed! It’s the veriest!


Here’s how it shakes out. The Republicans will want to extend tax cuts for the wealthy when the time comes around in a couple of months BECAUSE it will be good for the economy – just as they extended those cuts a few months ago. The wealthy will invest in the American economy, they say, and that creates job and economic activity. However, the Republicans do NOT want to extend payroll tax cuts for the middle class BECAUSE that will not be good for the economy since it will just drive up deficits.

Shake your finger at them, Mr. President. Shame, shame, shame! Shame on you!

Make sure the American public knows just which side the Republican Party is on! Don’t let them off the political hook on this one.

John Boehner
The House Speaker, Mr. Boehner, is showing his stripes in this debate and he’s proving to the public that he is not a real leader in the House. A few days ago he was all in favor of extending these middle class cuts. Now, as he sees and feels the temperament and desires of House Republicans, he is reversing field and trying to defend himself. The new, freshman Tea Party representatives have put the squeeze on Boehner and he is acquiescing to their desires
.

If the Republicans really fail to extend these cuts they will be damaging their chances in the 2012 elections to a degree that is really unimaginable. The power of the vote is the one great advantage that the poor and the middle class have in this nation. If they feel that power, and flex that muscle, the Republican Party will be devastated next November.

This country is being done great damage by a handful of Tea Party representatives and Boehner should not be letting them get away with it; however, the Speaker is a hollow shell and cannot do what needs to be done – that is, lead!

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I’m Tuning-Out American Politics

Give me that old time classical music station from now on because I need some peace in my soul!
by Charlie Leck

For a long time – years and years – I’ve enjoyed waking up in the early morning hours to BBC Radio and NPR. A little news reporting from around the world brings me to and gets me thinking and going. I think, after the last few days – starting with the horror in Norway and now the awful and cranky voice of John Boehner talking about the debt crisis – I think I’m going to retune the radio to the classical music station and wake up to something soothing and sane.

This morning, Boehner was awful. His comments were the perfect example of what has happened to American politics, showing us that respect and moderate public debate are things of the past.

“President Obama hates it. Harry Reid hates it. Nancy Pelosi hates it. Why would Republicans want to be on the side of President Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi [is] beyond me.”

The comment came in a Boehner interview with The Right Scoop blog (see below at about the 7:15 mark). Even Laura Ingraham, on that conservative blog, said the remark was “condescending.” And then went on to say…

“…if Boehner doesn’t understand that then he needs to step down as Speaker and hand the gavel to someone who does.”

I just can’t stand the attitude that Boehner brings to his job. He’s a frightening man who makes appeals to the lowest standards of human decency. How sad! If you want to listen to the interview, watch the video below; but I recommend you don’t put yourself through it.

I like to visit and read Jim Wallis’ blog, God’s Politics, because I find it very uplifting and informational. This morning, Jennifer Kottler made the contribution and she says exactly what I feel about the current drift of American politics. I’ll leave you today with that. In the meantime, it’s classical music for me and to hell with politics!

Where Has All the Sanity Gone?
by Jennifer Kottler 07-27-2011

Where has all the sanity gone?

I, for one, never expected in my wildest dreams to pine for the days of Ronald Reagan. But I’m there.

And for everyone who is blaming “everyone” on this debt ceiling debacle, you’re just dead wrong. The Democratically controlled House and Senate in the 80s did not hold President Reagan hostage when he had to raise the debt ceiling. And that is exactly what is happening. And the problem is that this is a train wreck that has been months in the coming. The only thing that we don’t know is how bad the carnage will be.

But we do know who’s going to be hurt most: It’s the people who come to my church’s front door every day. It’s the guy I met last week who is trying to make ends meet with a $300 per week job (in New York City) with three kids and a wife, on parole, and at the end of his rope. He doesn’t need piecemeal charity; he needs an economic system that rewards hard work and allows him to work and provide for his family. He doesn’t want to end up back inprison, but he knows that he might go back to the underground economy so that he can feed his family. It was 104 degrees here last week, and he’s already thinking about his kids needing winter coats and boots and school supplies.

So let’s ruin an already weak economy because it’s really not going to hurt the people who make the decisions — the millionaires in Congress, and the corporate executives who put them there.

It’s also going to cost lives in the drought ravaged Midwest, and the poverty-stricken Global South. When elephants fight, it’s the mice that get trampled.

I can’t stay silent any longer. I’m calling my member of Congress (Praise Jesus! I have one to call again, now that I am no longer living in Washington, D.C. ) and my senators. But they are not holding up the process. You who live in “red states” and “red districts” need to raise your voices and let them know that there will literally be hell to pay if they don’t do something about this now. It’s not about ideology. It’s about the economy, stupid.

Trust me, I get the fact that these people only care about one thing — defeating Obama. At this point, I could care less about that. I care about the fact that the number of people coming to my church is multiplying and my capacity to help them is shrinking. And I’m sitting here on Park Avenue in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in one of the wealthiest cities in the world. It’s also one of the most expensive places to try and make ends meet if you are on the wrong end of the income spectrum. I can only imagine what my ministry colleagues are facing in other places.

So I’m pleading with whatever sanity remains in Washington to not take our country down over your political agenda. Give Obama the courtesy to do what he needs to do to run the country. You’ve got another 15 months to make your case that you could run things better. And if you think we’ll forget about this, you’re wrong. The people in need will keep coming to my door. I wish I could send them to yours.

Rev. Jennifer Kottler is the associate pastor at Park Avenue Christian Church in New York, New York. A long-time advocate for justice, Jennifer has served in advocacy ministry for more than eight years through her work at Protestants for the Common Good (Chicago, IL), the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, the Chicago Jobs Council, and at Sojourners.

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What's a Guy to do?

It’s not a good day for the nation or the world as the U.S. inches toward financial disaster and Norway tries to recover from an insane, senseless and violent attack!
by Charlie Leck

What’s a guy to do? The world seems to be going crazy. The situation in Syria is absolutely awful. Violent dictators should somehow be dealt with. But, how? The world is going nuts, indeed, and the U.S. cannot inject itself in every one of these situations. We can’t afford the two or three we’re already in.

Poor Norway! What a good nation! Now it is punished for its role in Afghanistan and Libya – or that’s what appears to have happened in that nation. Guess what! The nut behind the shootings, and possibly the bombing also, is a lunatic Christian fundamentalist by the name of Anders Behring Breivik. Lord, what havoc is wreaked in your name! This NY Times story is the most thorough and enlightening that I’ve read about the matter.

Then there’s John Boehner, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He’s proven to be as poor a leader as I dreaded he was going to be. In my lifetime I do not remember a less capable leader of Congress than this poor, incapable schmuck! He’s going to cause calamity in America! On Friday he walked out of talks with the President. He’s acting like a baby. We’ve got a national disaster waiting to happen and Boehner is on an ego trip. The best story I read about the situation is this one from the Washington Post.

Here’s some places to go to find out just what the debt/credit limit business is really all about…

Ezra Kline blog: Everything you need to know about the credit limit in one blog! (This is really an excellent piece!)

Associated Press Q&A on debt limit…

Now, I’m going to find something enjoyable to do with my Saturday. Things are a bit too crazy in the world for me right now. I think I’ll hide my head in the sand.

Oh, by the way, it’s brutally hot in Minnesota again today and there are serious storm warnings. This is the most awful summer I can remember enduring up here. I can’t wait for autumn weather.

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