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Boehner's Amnesty Fixation Undermines GOP Momentum
GOP ^ | May 15, 2014 | Christopher G. Adamo

Posted on 05/16/2014 6:10:11 AM PDT by xzins

As the 2014 mid-term congressional elections loom, Democrats are indeed feeling gloomy. Their fanciful notion of retaking the House of Representatives, so gleefully pondered in the aftermath of Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection, is hardly mentioned anymore. Worse yet, some dire predictions of this fall’s outcome even include the prospect of Republicans gaining a majority in the Senate. The continually faltering economy (it is a stretch to honestly characterize anything that has occurred since 2009 as a “recovery”), combined with the nation’s collapsing international standing and a growing awareness that the worst repercussions of Obamacare are still yet to come, could set the stage for a blowout at the ballot box exceeding any in history.

Nevertheless, Democrats indeed have a chance to escape what they rightly anticipate as a brutal drubbing on Election Day. Once again, the Republican “leadership,” particularly in the House, is poised to ride to their rescue. And to nobody’s great surprise, House Speaker John Boehner (R.-OH) is leading the way. Were it not for this regular GOP treachery, the nation might truly be setting a course away from the disasters of the Obama regime, and the nightmares of liberal statism. However, it has become painfully obvious that the Republican “Establishment” has no such intentions, and is indeed determined to undermine and eliminate any within their ranks who remain truly committed to conservative principle.

At a May 13 gathering sponsored by the San Antonio Texas Chamber of Commerce, Boehner revealed his intentions to implement amnesty for the likely thirty million illegal aliens currently residing in America. Of course he would never call it “amnesty,” but once again promoted the concept under a variety of other platitudes, including “border security,” which carries as much credibility as congressional promises to “cut spending.” When considered as a whole, the end result would indeed be amnesty.

In the past, Boehner has sought on the one hand to pressure conservative stalwarts in the Congress into capitulating on the issue. Yet when they refused to do so, he attempted to shift the blame to the Obama Administration, asserting that among the Republicans in Congress “There’s widespread doubt about whether or not this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws.” He reiterated this contention as recently as April 29. What he fails to recognize is that among the American people, widespread doubt about his own integrity is rampant and growing.

Later in his San Antonio speech, Boehner explained that he is encouraging former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to run for president in 2016. Though immensely popular with Washington insiders and the class of political “experts” who gave us John McCain and Mitt Romney, everyone in “flyover” country knows full well that a Jeb Bush candidacy would be almost as big of a disaster as a Jeb Bush presidency (were that even possible). With America in such dire straits, both domestically and abroad, the last thing people of the Heartland are inclined to support is another establishment “rubber stamp” named Bush. And as if on cue addressed the issue at a Manhattan Institute gathering the next day, musing that opposition to amnesty “makes no sense to me.” Is it any wonder that grassroots conservatives have a less than stellar regard for the Speaker or his political “insights”?

Nor should the venue from which Boehner made his own pronouncements be ignored. It was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that pumped enormous sums of money into Boehner’s reelection bid in Ohio District Eight where he faced opposition from the Tea Party. So of course he is beholden to the organization that helped him win. And every past indication is that the Chamber will focus almost solely on immigration “reform,” which is euphemistic code for amnesty. On Monday of the same week, Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue warned “If Republicans don’t do it, they shouldn’t bother to run a candidate in 2016.” Clearly, he and his organization have attached a dollar value to America’s future.

It is appalling to consider how Republicans are not only willing to squander the distinct electoral advantage they could enjoy were they steadfastly on the right side of the immigration issue, but also how they are actually aiding and abetting the Obama agenda by waffling and ultimately selling America out in the process. Only this week, Barack Obama offered his own set of empty platitudes in support of amnesty, including his phony contention that it would somehow miraculously enhance America’s “safety and security.” But while he and Boehner continue their efforts to repackage the matter in terms that might gain a broader appeal, those who comprehend its implications to the national interest remain unshakably opposed to it.

In typical fashion, Obama seeks to stir emotions among Americans with his standard appeal to “fairness,” lamenting that “Our system is not fair to workers, is not fair to businesses, and is not fair to law enforcement officials.” Of course his “solution” to this problem, like his “solutions” to all of the other difficulties facing America, would only increase the hardship on those sectors of the population he claims to be trying to help, along with the rest of the American people who would suffer the consequences of thirty million new Democrat voters flooding the election rolls.

So, in the midst of the mid-term election cycle, when Republicans are in the perfect position to be successfully contrasting themselves against the unbroken line of abject failure that is the Democrat agenda, why would they instead be pursuing a course that can only undermine their own electoral fortunes? Could it be that the real goal of the GOP Establishment is to preserve the political status quo, while creating enough of a phony veneer of conservatism to rally a sufficient portion of the base to maintain the perks of numerical dominance in the Congress?

Real conservatives are regularly mocked and scorned by a liberal media that despises every principle of traditional America for which they stand. In like manner, they have been receiving a significant amount of mockery and scorn from Boehner. If this is the intended image of the “new Congress” that would result from a Republican “victory” in November, on what basis do party insiders expect to generate enough enthusiasm among the voters to inspire them to go to the ballot box?

While conservatives have no illusions of expecting intellectual honesty or forthrightness from the Democrat party or its parakeets hosting the nightly news, they have long sought to present a united front of opposition to the left through the vehicle of the Republican Party. With each new pronouncement from party “leadership” that the plan is to accommodate the goals and practices of the left, the wind departs from conservative sails. To the degree that Democrats are able to prevail in November, “Republican” duplicity will be the culprit.


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 5thcolumn; betrayal; boehner; conservative; uniparty
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To: xzins

When will the GOP dump this jerk. He is a damn boat anchor.


21 posted on 05/16/2014 7:33:39 AM PDT by skeeter
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To: pallis

I think you give the GOP-e too much credit for stategery. Bottom line is the Chamber of Commerce is giving tons of money to anyone who supports amnesty, and vows to spend money to defeat any Pub candidate who runs in the primaries against amnesty, even if that means supporting a Democrat in November. It’s all about the money.


22 posted on 05/16/2014 7:38:48 AM PDT by Hugin
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To: Hugin

It’s not just the Chamber of Commerce, we have the Senate Minority Leader who has vowed to hurt groups and candidates who dare take money from the TEA Party using his position.


23 posted on 05/16/2014 7:40:05 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
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To: Lakeshark
Sometimes it seems they have no capacity for deep thought, with few if any brains at all.

America's Leftward march since the 1930s, has been driven from the start by a combination of political demagoguery & neurotic theorists, who postulate an equality of human potential that simply does not exist. The demagogues play on the fanaticism of the theorists, whose frenetic push for more and more governmental interference in the normal workings of society, has been rationalized as an appeal for "social justice." (Not 'Social' & Not 'Just')

As the contrived push has gone forward, more & more of the once normal population, has been intimidated by the warped combination; intimidated into varied degrees of acceptance, depending upon such things as the limits on any individual's tolerance to stand up to ihe inevitable abuse that comes to those who stand up to the Leftward movement.

Obviously, Conservatives cannot afford to have a spokesman in a key position, who seeks an accommodation with those who are trying to ram false premises down our throats--premises that are hopelessly incompatible with the continued existence of the Federal system, the Founders vouchsafed to their posterity in the Constitution.

This point is not really even debatable. But in response to your point: No one intimidated by the neurotic bullies & demagogues on the Left is capable of deep thought on these issues; they are afraid to risk it.

William Flax

24 posted on 05/16/2014 7:44:49 AM PDT by Ohioan
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To: xzins

Just received this from NumbersUSA, all of it is scary, but look at item #2...

NumbersUSA has never lost an amnesty battle in Congress in 15 years. But this year, the open borders coalition is fighting us on three different fronts. We absolutely must win all three battles, or the largest Illegal Alien Amnesty in history could become law.

How would you feel personally about 12 million illegal aliens voting in our elections, collecting public benefits, and bringing millions more family members to America within a few short years? Disaster, right?

Our opponents in Big Business, Big Labor, Organized Religion, Elite Media, and just about every politician with a “For Sale” sign around his neck is working day and night to pass a total amnesty and DOUBLE legal immigration. Double disaster! The other side has spent around $2 BILLION since 2008 to force this amnesty down American throats. But with our modest budget and enormous people power, we’ve held them off....

Let me tell you the three battles we’re fighting at once.

1) Amnesty tacked on to the Defense bill

Our opponents are desperately working to stick a get-out-of-jail-free amnesty on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amnesty, known as the ENLIST Act, gives certain illegal aliens the right to join our military and a path to citizenship if they do. The proposed amnesty is outrageous enough on its own: at a time when our military is drastically scaling back its personnel and turning away highly qualified American recruits, Congress is seriously considering rewarding illegal aliens with citizenship if they take Americans’ places in the military. Could any sane person really think that replacing our own soldiers with foreign citizens is good for national security?

Last week, after being deluged by messages from our members, the House Armed Services Committee REFUSED to add the military amnesty to the defense bill. GREAT!! Congratulations, members! This is a significant victory. HOWEVER, we can’t rest a second. The House Rules Committee, chaired by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), is considering allowing the military amendment to be offered when the bill hits the House floor. This would happen as early as NEXT WEEK. We must force the Rules Committee to hold its ground. If we don’t succeed there, then we have to wage war to stop the amendment on the floor.

But that’s not all! Simultaneously, Sen. Harry Reid is considering attaching the military amnesty to the defense bill on the Senate side. Our long-time opponent Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is championing that effort. That decision will be made in the next two weeks. Then, the battle goes to the Senate floor. And even THAT isn’t the end of it. Once the NDAA has been passed (in whatever form) by House and Senate, it would go to a House-Senate conference committee to add more goodies onto it. If one chamber attaches a military amnesty onto the underlying bill, the conference could ramp the amnesty way up—maybe even to resemble S.744, which triples life-time immigrant work permits over the first decade. Obviously, WE HAVE TO WIN THIS BATTLE!

Fortunately, our activists’ early response has been strong. We’ve sent 700,000 faxes to Congress in the past few weeks. As the battlefront continues to expand, we need to send Congress two million or more faxes. We need all our members to clear their Action Boards, and keep a look-out for further alerts from us.

The military amnesty is only the FIRST of THREE battles this year. Very briefly, here are the other two. They’re both so scary they make my skin crawl.

2) The second battle will be an August Surprise.

House Speaker John Boehner told the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce this week in San Antonio that he is wanting to pass several small immigration bills this year if his GOP Representatives will let him. Republican House leader Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers said that House leaders want immigration legislation to pass by August. These bills will include an illegal alien amnesty and a huge hike in legal immigration. This would be a total disaster.

The only thing to stop the August surprise is you! NumbersUSA has legions of grassroots activists ready to swat the August Surprise down. But that only works if we have the money to pay for the millions of free faxes and the hundreds of thousands of free phone calls to Congress that probably will be required by year’s end. H J, need your financial support to stop it.

3) The third battle this year is the Lame Duck Disaster.

For me, this the scariest battle of all. News reports out yesterday quote top open borders business leaders Tom Donahue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Jay Timmons of the National Association of Manufacturers as saying that Boehner’s secret plan is to hold a Lame Duck (after the election) session of Congress in December and push through the giant immigration-increasing bill (amnesty plus doubling of legal immigration) as the last bill of the Lame Duck Session!

Can you imagine? Since Boehner is now broadly hinting that this will be his last term as Speaker of the House, a Lame Duck Session would be the perfect time to plant the knife in America’s back and saunter away into the twilight. Outrageous, YES!!


25 posted on 05/16/2014 7:47:06 AM PDT by Jane Long (While Marxists continue the fundamental transformation of the USA, progressive RINOs assist!)
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To: KC_Lion

Yea, there’s that too KC. But first and foremost, they are liberals. They run liberal candidates for office, they run on liberal platforms like Amnesty while presenting the base with endless dog and pony investigations that go nowhere in order to protect fellow liberals and they are backed by the most liberal members of the base who insist we continue accepting their lesser evil stupidity.

This is yet another direct result of the belief that principles don’t matter. The cold hard fact is that they saw what they could shove on people with Romney and get away with. Now, exactly as predicted, they are going even further left this go around.

None of this is rocket surgery. Subsidize leftism in the GOP and Econ 101 proves you get more of it. So the question is, do we continue listening to the idiots that pushed for the lesser evil we now bitch about or do we finally man up and vote for principled people with a conservative agenda?

There are no guarantees that we will win. But there IS a guarantee that if we keep electing these lesser evils that amnesty is only the beginning. Turns out there isn’t any such thing as a ‘lesser’ evil afterall.


26 posted on 05/16/2014 7:48:57 AM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: Jane Long

How do we remove Boehner from the speaker’s chair before the end of summer?


27 posted on 05/16/2014 7:55:56 AM PDT by xzins ( Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Those who truly support our troops pray for victory!)
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To: Mouton

I hope that somehow one of the repubs figure out that if they go with the dims on amnesty, they will be finished as a party. A while back the democrat party’s media all used the number of 35 to 40 million illegals in our country. Then all of them started using the number 11 million. Even the repubs use that number.
If the illegals get amnesty, they will be registered to vote next and that 11 million will magically turn into 75 to 80 million.

Game, set, match.


28 posted on 05/16/2014 7:57:12 AM PDT by Texas resident (The democrat party is now the CPUSA)
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To: Norm Lenhart
None of this is rocket surgery.

Rocket. Surgery.

Rocket...surgery.

Rocket surgery!

Hey! I like it. May I emmploy it, as well?

29 posted on 05/16/2014 7:58:09 AM PDT by okie01
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To: okie01

It’s an oldie. Public domain mixed metaphor ;)


30 posted on 05/16/2014 7:59:56 AM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: xzins; All
How do we remove Boehner from the speaker’s chair before the end of summer?

I've been asking that same question for some time, now. I'm at my wits end with this traitor. I know there has to be a process, but who - of our elected Reps - is willing to pursue it?

I've (repeatedly) called my worthless Rep, to ask this question...to no avail.

31 posted on 05/16/2014 8:00:15 AM PDT by Jane Long (While Marxists continue the fundamental transformation of the USA, progressive RINOs assist!)
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To: Jane Long

Conservative candidates have to campaign on No Amnesty and the vow to vote against Bhoner for Speaker should he try to keep the job. I would thing that he would withdraw from the idea once the idea gained traction. The only other option is to vote for the Dem against him come election day... And I doubt many could or would hold their noses to do it. We could absorb the loss of his seat easy enough though.


32 posted on 05/16/2014 8:03:35 AM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: Jane Long

Whatever the process is, it has to be in the House Rules. It cannot be a matter of law and it isn’t in the constitution. I guess it’s a matter of getting a complete edition of the House Rules.

That said, I’m certain in my bones that the way to attack this is to appeal to workers and businesses who would be hurt. Small business will be hurt by larger business getting cheaper labor and that making their prices even more competitive with the quality and personal attention that a small business gives.

Like you say, though, that needs money and leadership and organization to get the message out.


33 posted on 05/16/2014 8:18:59 AM PDT by xzins ( Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Those who truly support our troops pray for victory!)
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To: KC_Lion

The Stoopid party will find a way to piss-off their base and turn the midterms into a horse race. The Human Boner loves an excuse to weep.
Conservatives: no party, no Papa, no Uncle Sam.


34 posted on 05/16/2014 8:26:28 AM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
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To: MNGal

“I just can’t keep myself from wondering what the Dems have on Boehner that would cause him to continue giving his support. It must be pretty big.”

They don’t have anything on Tammy Faye. He is doing what he needs to do to secure a bigtime high paying lobbyist job post Speakership career. Helping his corporate buddies with amnesty will be rewarded with a great income for the rest of his working life.


35 posted on 05/16/2014 8:35:26 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: Georgia Girl 2

If your statement is true, that is tragic. The thought that Boehner is willing to render the Republican party irrelevant and harm the country for the sole purpose of setting himself up with a lobbyist job he is diabolical.


36 posted on 05/16/2014 8:39:28 AM PDT by MNGal
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To: MNGal

The Chamber of Commerce which is all about cheap labor for big business gave mega money to Boehner’s re-election campaign. He’s been in bed with big business his whole career. He’s a former “businessman”. Boehner knows his days are numbered as Speaker and he will soon be out on the street looking for employment.


37 posted on 05/16/2014 8:49:15 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: Hugin

While I think my analysis is correct, I agree that the Chamber of Commerce and the Republican left are joined at the hip, and both share blame with Obama in releasing thousands of criminal illegals on the American public.


38 posted on 05/16/2014 9:30:09 AM PDT by pallis
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To: Lakeshark

“If Boehner and the GOPE don’t change direction on this issue, we are toast.”

What kind of jam would you like on your toast.

There no longer is a point to the GOP its time conservatives get it and move on.


39 posted on 05/16/2014 9:43:50 AM PDT by Breto (Stranger in a strange land... where did America go?)
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To: Lakeshark
Re: “If Boehner and the GOPe don't change direction on this issue, we are toast.”

We may be toast already, and because of LEGAL immigration, not because of Amnesty.

The USA creates about 1 million new citizens per year.

New citizens vote 80% Democrat, but their turn out is very low.

The only reason Conservatives still have some political power is because our voter turn out is the highest in the country.

When Socialist voters start to vote at the same rate as Conservatives, the game is over.

40 posted on 05/16/2014 10:44:17 AM PDT by zeestephen
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