I freely admit that I have never, ever, been a fan of John Boehner, and I have felt going all the way back to 2010 that we would be doing ourselves a huge favor if we were to come up with a different Speaker. Someone like a Trey Gowdy, for instance. Because whenever listening to Boehner you never really know out of which side of his mouth he is speaking.
For instance, it was in his very first post-election press conference that Boehner was heard to say, "My job is to listen to the American people. The American people have made it clear, they're not for Obamacare. Ask all those Democrats who lost their elections Tuesday night." Sorry, but claiming to be listening to the American people and acting like it, are two very different things.
Because in listening to what he said during that same press conference, I think there may be some doubt that he’s really listening. He said, "So, the House, I'm sure, at some point next year, we'll move to repeal Obamacare because it should be repealed and it should be replaced with common sense reforms that respect the doctor/patient relationship."
Now it’s time to put your thinking caps on and let’s try to decipher what it was that Boehner was REALLY saying. Was he saying that: He intends for the House to terminate implementation of Obamacare at some point in the next year, or was he actually saying that he intends for the House to ensure Obamacare is implemented next year? Which is it?
And Boehner also said, "You've all heard me say, starting two years ago yesterday, that our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. But I've made clear to the president that if he acts unilaterally on his own, outside of his authority, he will poison the well and there will be no chance for immigration reform moving in this Congress. It's as simple as that."
So everyone put those thinking caps back on one more time and tell me what you think that Boehner might really have been telling us. Was he saying that: He intends for the House to stop Barry "Almighty" from unilaterally and unconstitutionally granting amnesty to illegal aliens, OR that he intends for the House to permit Barry to do so. Again, which is it?
Boehner also said, "I believe that we need to ... address the debt that's hurting our economy and imprisoning the future of our kids and grandkids." So again, did he mean that he intends for the House to significantly cut spending in its next long-term funding bill, OR did he mean that he intends for the House to approve a new long-term funding bill that includes all of the spending that Barry wants?
Back on Sept. 18, the House Republican leaders ‘pushed’ through a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government until Dec. 11. What this CR did was to punt all substantive issues until after the election. It fully funded Obamacare, including the regulation that requires individual Christians to buy coverage for abortion-inducing drugs even if that violates their religious faith.
As well, it fully funded Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading abortion provider. And it did absolutely nothing to stop Barry from using money from the Treasury to implement an unconstitutional unilateral amnesty granting legal status to illegal aliens. They say actions speak louder than words, and Boehners actions do not lead one to believe that Boehner is listenings.
By agreeing to a CR that expires on Dec. 11 rather than Jan. 11, the House Republican leaders not only ensured that they would not need to fight with Barry over any significant issues before the election, they also made it possible to prevent incoming Republican majorities in both houses from having any substantive say over major policy issues until at least next September.
Prior to the election, Politico published a story based on an interview with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Politico reported that McCarthy "would like to use the lame-duck session to pass a long-term government-funding bill, so Washington can begin focusing on big-picture legislating, instead of just trying to keep government's doors open."
In plain English what is intended here is for the Republican leaders to cut a spending deal with Barry and out-going Senate Majority Leader ‘Dingy Harry’ Reid in December before the new Republican majorities in the House and Senate are sworn in. Such a deal would run through Sept. 30 of next year and would be like the deal Republican leaders cut with Barry and Reid this past September.
Because it would then permit Barry to spend money doing everything he truly finds important. And it would allow the new Republican Congress to hold a string of symbolic votes next year on stand-alone pieces of legislation that Obama can afford to veto without shutting down the whole government or even part of it. Barry will get substance. Republicans will get symbols.
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama is calling for a different strategy. He wants to actually prevent Barry from unilaterally granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. "He must be stopped," Sessions wrote in a commentary for Politico this week. And I agree. Our leaders cannot be timid in taking whatever measures necessary to stop Barry, it’s why they were elected!
Barry's amnesty, Sessions said, "cannot be implemented if Congress simply includes routine language on any government funding bill prohibiting the expenditure of funds for this unlawful purpose. This is the same way we prevented the president from closing Guantanamo Bay. Such application of congressional power is ordinary, unexceptional, and used thousands of times.
"Congress has the power of the purse," said Sessions. "The president cannot spend a dime unless Congress appropriates it." The ONLY way Barry can carry out a unilateral amnesty, implement Obamacare, or attack religious liberty is if Boehner's House once again gives him the money to do it.
Over the course of the next two years we are going to have to keep a very close eye on not only Mr. Boehner, but every single Republican member of Congress. A little micro-management of these folks is not only required, by very necessary. We simply can no longer afford to accept at face value anything that they tell us. They work for us, we must not allow them to forget that!
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