Comments on: The House versus the Senate on the border bill

By: Barry Meislin

Barry Meislin — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 20:13:25 +0000

From the “Nice Country Ya Got There….” Files…
“Schumer Lashes Out At Trump For Killing Open-Border Ukraine Deal”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/118b-ukraine-slush-fund-border-deal-dead-senate-amid-gop-revolt

And it comes with its own ROTFLW segment…
(WARNING: Before reading, make sure you are wearing well-padded clothing and a bicycle—or motorcycle—helmet…)

‘…Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, [Schumer] said that “After months of good faith negotiations, after months of giving Republicans many of the things they asked for, Leader McConnell and the Republican conference are ready to kill the national security supplemental package, even with the border provisions they so fervently demanded.”….’

Yep, Schumer actually said that, delusional loon that he is….

By: Oblio

Oblio — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 14:59:15 +0000

Barry, it’s not even effective extortion. It’s the equivalent of Sheriff Bart in Blazing Saddles holding himself hostage: “Somebody help that poor man…”
“No” is a powerful word.

By: Barry Meislin

Barry Meislin — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 14:46:20 +0000

Um, Oblio, it’s called EXTORTION…or, if you will, “transformative strong-arming”…

(Thugs happen to be really good at it… They should be: they practice an awful lot….)

By: Oblio

Oblio — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 14:21:31 +0000

While it made some sense to link Israel aid to Ukraine aid and Ukraine aid to the border from a rhetorical standpoint. it never made any sense to link the issues in legislation. This is Negotiations 101. The House has belatedly figured that out by passing a clean Israel funding bill. The maximum political benefit comes from making Congressmen and Senators vote for each policy on its own merits. You want money for Ukraine but not border security? Fine, vote accordingly and be prepared to defend your vote to the constituents.
This style of secret omnibus lawmaking allows members to avoid accountability and increases the power of the dealmakers in the back room. In this case, the desire for Ukraine funding was the carrot to convince Lankford (with McConnell probably at his shoulder at every step) to give the Left what it wanted on illegal immigration in order to get the Left to do what it already was inclined to do on Ukraine. (The Democrats have perfected this stance: “If you want me to do what we both want to do, you also have to do what you don’t want to do.” A five year old could counter that gambit: “If you Democrats don’t want to support Biden’s Ukraine policy, vote accordingly.”) If McConnell played the role I think he played, the caucus should sack him for incompetence.
The call for “Regular Order” in appropriations is a reaction to the same practice. Until Congress re-asserts its ability to oversee the funding of each part of the Government, calling Cabinet members to testify is so much theatre; they know their budgets are going to be set in the omnibus negotiation, whether everything is connected to everything else. Regular Order is required to re-establish congressional oversight over the Administrative State. The Republican caucus was right to sack McCarthy for breaking his promise on Regular Order.
Johnson better get on the ball. He’s burning daylight.

By: AesopFan

AesopFan — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 03:21:07 +0000

Banned Lizard on February 5, 2024 at 6:12 pm said:
“The McConnell-Romney-Bush wing of the GOP desperately wants to lower the cost of labor and are so passionate about it that they are willing to sacrifice the country to do so.”

The actual solution to high costs of LEGAL labor is to repeal all of the union-labor subsidies/goodies/perks that they have accumulated, end all minimum wage laws, and cut back a host of other regulations that raise the price of LEGAL labor. They could even address the labor taxes such as Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance that have to be paid for LEGAL labor.

But they won’t.

Just like Biden could close the border tomorrow by revoking HIS Executive Orders.
But he won’t.

By: Banned Lizard

Banned Lizard — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 02:24:47 +0000

Having seen the DC Federal District Court's eagerness to persecute innocent patriots and tilt the scales of justice leftward, Dems and RINOs are now trying to stick the following type of provision into border related laws. So the Biden admin's policy of not allowing states to defend their borders is potentially combined with putting those states in the hostile malignant hands of the most evil court in human history. Emphasis mine: The United States Court for the District of Columbia shall have sole and original jurisdiction to hear challenges, whether constitutional or otherwise, to the validity of this section or any written policy directive, written policy guideline, written procedure, or the implementation thereof, issued by or under the authority of the Secretary to implement this section. As Andrew Breitbart famously said in another context, WAR.

By: JackWayne

JackWayne — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 01:51:55 +0000

When the bill fails, McConnell will explain that he was trying to get the Democrats on the record and hand a winning electoral issue to Republicrats.

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 00:44:53 +0000

Duplicate–sorry!

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 00:29:24 +0000

Contact your people in DC and let them know! An email, a mark left on their website, a phone call to their voicemail. Any and every way you have of connecting with your elected representative is the most powerful tool you and I have.
Do it now!

By: Geoffrey Britain

Geoffrey Britain — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 23:26:15 +0000

These politicians know full well that the great majority of Americans want the border closed. Willfully blind to the terrible reckoning they are pursuing.