Free Republic

We've known this failure was forthcoming for some time, but it's still worth flagging for several reasons, which we'll get to momentarily.  First, the basics:   Monday marked the deadline set in law for President Obama to submit a budget, but he missed it — making this the fourth time in his five years in office that he's failed to submit the blueprint on time. That makes his record equal to the three previous presidents combined, who spanned 20 years in office. This year, Mr. Obama blamed the late passage of his tax increase deal early last month. "Because these issues were not...

Last week, Republicans proved they are not a governing party. Next week we will see whether Democrats are. A governing party would have, reluctantly, passed Speaker John Boehner's Plan B, which would have preserved the current tax rates on everyone with incomes under $1 million. Passage would have put Senate Democrats on the spot, since they voted for a similar measure in 2010. They might have engaged in negotiations with Boehner that could have been more productive than his negotiations with Barack Obama this month and in the summer of 2011. Then, as Bob Woodward reports in his book "The...

What a pity.  If only someone had demonstrated the foresight to warn against the destructive consequences of Obamacare's medical device tax, they might have helped turn public sentiment sharply against the law prior to passage.  Oh, that's right, conservatives did -- and the American people rose up in opposition.  Now, the very actors who are most responsible for ignoring public demands and jamming through Obamacare are trying to "delay" or repeal a major element of their law, warning that it could stifle medical innovation and kill jobs.  Welcome to the party, guys.  You're about two years too late:   U.S....

The White House has been hyping its #My2K Twitter hashtag in an attempt to galvanize supporters to contact their Congressional representatives to demand action to avert the fiscal cliff.  The administration estimates that unless Congress moves, the average family's tax bill will jump by more than $2,000, starting on the first of January.  The implication, of course, is that Republicans are once again standing in the way of resolving this problem.  Show of hands -- as the media breathlessly follows every minor twist and turn of these negotiations, how many of you have seen this fact reported?   .@barackobama's #My2K shenanigans ignore...

The wheels appear to be coming off a two week attempt by the Obama Administration to cover up its fatal security failures at our consulate in Libya and to cover up the very fact that this was a successful pre-planned terrorist attack that cost four American lives, including that of our Libyan Ambassador, Christopher Stevens. Not only has the scandal picked up steam in the mainstream press (Jake Tapper's ABC News report tonight is a must-watch), but high-ranking members of the President's own party are now demanding answers. This includes the man most often cited as a likely Secretary of...

It’s very fitting that the same day Mitt Romney chose a fiscal and budgetary guru as his VP also marks the 1200th day since Senate Democrats have passed a budget. The debt accumulated during that time? Oh, a mere $5 trillion. On Friday, Senate Budget Committee Republicans released this infographic to make it clear:     The Weekly Standard has the scoop:  In a joint statement, Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions and House Budget Committee chair Paul Ryan mark the milestone. “Tomorrow marks another disappointing record for the United States Senate: Senate Majority Leader Reid and his Democrat...

As our intrepid president prepares to lecture Congressional Republicans for rudely refusing to sign on to every last element of his astonishingly irresponsible tax-and-spend agenda, Senate Democrats can rest assured that Obama will spare them the humiliation of mentioning today's truly pathetic anniversary.  Yes, January 24, 2012, marks the one-thousandth day since the United States Senate -- controlled by Democrats since 2007 -- last introduced a budget.  Harry Reid's crew evidently couldn't care less that passing annual fiscal blueprints is a statutory requirement.  To explain away their intentional negligence, Democrats have attempted to (surprise!) blame Republicans for obstructing the process. ...

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BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: From the Associated Press: "President Barack Obama’s jobs bill, facing a critical test in the Senate, appears likely to die at the hands of Republicans." It was never meant to live, you people at the AP. But, see, this is exactly -- I hate being right sometimes -- this is exactly what I told you the purpose of that whole jobs bill was. It is the Democrats who can't pass this bill. It's the Democrats who don't have the votes. It was Mitch McConnell's idea to push for a quick vote on this. He wanted to illustrate...

Exultant Senate Democrats prepared to deliver a Christmas Eve win to President Barack Obama with passage of landmark health care legislation that would extend coverage to 30 million Americans. Powerless to stop it, Republicans stepped up their attacks, contending the sweeping bill threatened to harm Medicare and add billions to the deficit. "Tomorrow the Senate will vote on a bill that makes a bad situation worse," Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said on the Senate floor Wednesday, the 24th day of debate on the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill. "This bill slid rapidly down the slippery slope to more and more...

Senate Democrats said Sunday that they were fleshing out plans to pass health legislation, particularly the option of a new government-run insurance program, with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes that would ordinarily be needed to overcome a filibuster. After consulting experts in Senate rules and procedure, the Democrats said they were increasingly confident that they could legislate creation of a public plan in a way that would withstand challenges expected from Republicans. Appearing Sunday on the NBC News program “Meet the Press,” Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said a...

Democratic senators went to the White House on Tuesday to join President Obama in celebrating his 48th birthday and to plot strategy to pass a comprehensive health bill that would offer affordable insurance to nearly all Americans. When Democratic leaders left the meeting, they gave a rosy, upbeat account of the lunch, which apparently featured a big dish of bipartisanship, along with salad and rockfish. The Senate Democratic leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, said there was “absolute unity” among members of the normally fractious Democratic conference. ... The chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana,...

The weeks ahead were supposed to mark the moment in which President Obama used a filibuster-proof, 60-vote majority to push some of the most ambitious items on his agenda through the Senate, brushing aside GOP opposition as little more than a distraction. But instead, even with the Minnesota Supreme Court on the verge of settling that state's seemingly endless disputed Senate race, which would finally provide a 100th senator, the chamber's leaders are having to contend with the prolonged absence of two of the most senior and famed members as key summer votes approach. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), 91,...

Frustrated Senate Democratic leaders dispensed with calls for bipartisanship on the stimulus package Thursday, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying that he won't let anyone "hold the president of the United States hostage." President Barack Obama had once hoped to have the package pass with substantial Republican support. But Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that's now a “distant memory." "So far," he said, bipartisanship "isn't working." But in an interview with Politico, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that the Democrats - not the Republicans - have made a mockery of bipartisanship. “Senators are in a panic – this bill...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democrats on Wednesday sought to revise their $900 billion economic stimulus plan to drum up enough Republican support so they can send it to President Barack Obama next week to sign into law. The Democratic-led Senate entered a third day of debate on the package, which Obama wants on his desk by February 16, in a bid to reverse the downward spiral of the U.S. economy, which has been in recession since December 2007. Democrats need at least two Republican votes to clear possible procedural hurdles and Obama wants healthy bipartisan support for the package after...

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (”LCCR”) is a far left interest group. The group opposed conservative judges. The group agitates for card check. The group is in favor of the Fairness Doctrine. It is chiefly an agitator for affirmative action programs and tries to pressure banks into giving high risk loans like those that caused the housing crisis. If you oppose them, they label you a racist. LCCR operates like ACORN. And the Senate Democrats are about to give the $90 million of your money. Under the cover of the digital television conversion delay, the Senate Democrats want to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats said on Sunday President-elect Barack Obama's proposals to stimulate the economy would likely undergo big changes to address their concerns and ensure they will revive economic growth. Obama's outline for an $800 billion stimulus plan called for 40 percent of it to be in the form of tax cuts, an effort to win over Republicans who have expressed concerns about major spending on infrastructure projects also in the package. But Democrats complained that the $10 billion in energy tax breaks were not enough and also questioned whether a $1,000 tax cut for middle class workers...

Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made a personal appeal to Barack Obama: Help me grow the Democrats’ Senate majority by sharing some of the $77 million you’ve got in the bank. Obama’s campaign said no. Although Democratic insiders say a better deal could still come, the Obama campaign so far has agreed only to let Senate Democrats use Obama’s name — as well as those of his wife and running mate — in mail and online fundraising pitches. The campaign has planned no joint fundraising events with House or Senate Democrats, and insiders say none is likely...

As you no doubt know, the Senate last week voted to confirm Gen. David Petraeus -- slandered less than a year ago by MoveOn.org as "Gen. Betray Us" -- by a 95 to 2 vote. Which two senators voted against Petraeus, despite his historic achievement: dramatically changing U.S. military strategy in Iraq and turning what looked to be America's defeat at the hands of al-Qaeda and Iran's proxies into a clear success? The answer (drum roll please): Senator Tom Harkin (D., Iowa) and Senator Robert Byrd (D., W.V.) voted against him. Interesting, don't you think, that both Harkin and Byrd...

Sen. Charles Schumer is a legendary pursuer of television cameras. But look at the way the national media are covering Schumer's heavy-breathing pursuit to make Attorney General Alberto Gonzales cry uncle and resign. It makes you wonder just how hard Schumer has to work to get press attention. The media appear Schumer-owned and operated. One interview really captures how the press acts more like a Democratic goon squad than nonpartisan observers of the national scene. On ABC's "Good Morning America," news anchor Christopher Cuomo, son of Mario Cuomo, asked this pushy question on July 27: "Is Alberto Gonzales out of...