 Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., left, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., voted “no” on the two-year spending package signed into law last Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) The House Freedom Caucus is not happy with GOP leadership after Democrats and Republicans struck a deal last week to fund the government for two years and avoid another shutdown until at least March 23. The package President Donald Trump signed Friday morning raises the debt limit, provides an additional $300 billion for defense and domestic programs over two years, and allocates relief dollars for natural disaster victims. Most Freedom Caucus members are furious over what they consider wasteful spending and a betrayal of the GOP’s hard-line opposition to debt increases. The 36-member Freedom Caucus did have defectors of its own. Roughly nine voted in support of the package. (The Freedom Caucus does not publish its membership roster, so it’s difficult to determine an exact count, although most members of the group are known.) For messaging purposes, they kept their crosshairs fixed squarely on leadership’s back. “Instead of standing firm, our leadership said, ‘No, no, no, let’s do what Washington always does. Let’s just spend more on everything. Let’s just grow government, give into the Democrats instead of fighting and [standing] firm,’” Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said on “Fox News Sunday.” “They gave into the Democrats and we got this boondoggle.” A persistent thorn in House Republicans’ side is the 60-vote tradition in the Senate intended to curb more extreme bills when one party controls both chambers of Congress and to attract some bipartisan buy-in. The rule has stalled a number of conservative bills that have passed in the House, where only a simple majority is needed. Freedom Caucus members and other House conservatives have decried the rule as Republicans struggle to enact a broad legislative agenda, even with a red White House and control of both congressional chambers. “Last time I checked, there’s more Republicans in the Senate than there are Democrats,” Jordan said, calling for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to spike the long-standing 60-vote rule. Meadows echoed that sentiment. “At some point, we’re going to have to say, ‘Mitch McConnell, enough is enough. Fifty-one votes on anything that is of national security interest. It is time that we change this.’” he said. “The American people ... could care less about their traditions of the Senate. They do care about their pocketbook. And what we’ve done is we’ve actually taken money from them to grow the size of government by almost 13 percent.” |
Freedom Caucus Sounds Off on Leadership Over Budget Deal
| Source: | Roll Call |
| Published: | Feb 12, 2018 |
| Author: | Griffin Connolly |
| Post Date: | 2018-02-12 19:19:41 by Gatlin |
| Views: | 3275 |
#1: Hondo68 To: Gatlin, loves big intrusive nanny state government (#0)
boondoggle = Trump swamp
And tater loves it!
Hondo68 posted on 2018-02-12 19:47:27 Reply Private Reply
#2: Tooconservative To: Gatlin (#0)
Weekly Standard: Against The Filibuster
They argue that the modern notion of the filibuster is invalid, that it was unused for about 50 years after it was instituted, then used more as the Civil War loomed, then mostly ignored for a long time until the Sixties, then they reduced it from 66 votes to 60 but also allow a senator to filibuster merely by putting a "hold" on a bill (instead of being forced to stand at the podium and actually filibuster in person without stopping).
The filibuster as we have it now is nothing like what the Founders imagine. It's a stale and much-changed rule of the Senate that leads to a lot of very bad results, like senators holding up appointments and treaties and trying to blackmail the Senate into giving their state more pork (Alaska, I'm looking at you).
And Harry Reid clearly stated that Dems would kill the filibuster entirely the next time they hold power. And that is exactly what they will do as soon as they get 51 votes to do it. Knowing this, why should the GOP handicap itself to give any privileges to the minority, knowing their intentions as soon as they regain the Senate?
Tooconservative posted on 2018-02-12 20:27:14 Reply Private Reply
#3: Gatlin To: All (#0)
It is hard to overestimate the damage the Freedom Caucus has done to the fledgling presidency of Donald Trump, and to the country. By blocking the American Health Care Act of 2017, the conservative group has guaranteed that Americans will struggle forward under the burden of Obamacare.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Monday he’s not surprised by the actions of some in the conservative caucus regarding the recent spending bill, but is concerned the Republican Party is moving away from fiscal responsibility.
“Yeah, of course it’s a worry,” the Illinois Republican said on CNN. “And look, [GOP Rep.] Jim Jordan never misses an opportunity to slam somebody in his own party. In fact, I see him do that more often than he does anybody else.
So Jim Jordan’s comments kind of don’t surprise me.” Mr. Jordan of Ohio said Sunday that the bill was “not consistent” with what the American people wanted from their lawmakers. He said Republicans “gave in” to Democrats on the bill.
Mr. Kinzinger said that the addition to the deficit — estimated at just over $1 trillion by 2019 — was a concern, but said the bill did more good than harm. He was among the majority of the House Republicans who voted for the latest budget deal.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the deal includes $320 billion in deficit spending. House Speaker Paul Ryan pushed the deal through, saying much of that was due to mandatory spending on entitlements and not the additional earmarks in the bill, including a big boost in spending for the military. “What we did in this budget is we fixed the military,” Mr. Kinzinger said.
The passing of last week’s budget was essential to the military where 80 U.S. service member were killed last year in accidents and training incidents, roughly four-times more than in combat. There can be no higher responsibility for our government but to support the men and women who are in harm’s way. The budge agreement delivered on that commitment and with new equipment and better training, there can be no doubt that deaths will be prevented.
In the fight against the budget and Donald Trump’s presidency: “We have seen the enemy....and the enemy is us.”
Gatlin posted on 2018-02-12 21:02:56 Reply Private Reply
#4: Tooconservative To: Gatlin (#3)
...is one of the members of the House that I despise the most.
I am pretty confident he will be an ex-congresscritter a year from now. He likes to pander to the Dems and the Chamber but he's going to wash out of Congress IMO. Good riddance.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-02-12 23:03:05 Reply Private Reply
#5: Gatlin To: Tooconservative (#4)
Why? And you base this on what reason, oh great Carnac the magnificent?Gatlin posted on 2018-02-13 00:10:12 Reply Private Reply
#6: Gatlin To: Tooconservative (#4)
Newsmax: The 25 Hardest Working Members of Congress.
Congress may have low approval ratings, with the latest Gallup poll showing just 18 percent of the public thinks the House and Senate are doing a good job.
Despite the public anger toward Congress, many members work their hearts out for their constituents and the public.
Newsmax’s editorial team interviewed dozens of people who know the House of Representatives really well. They included members of Congress, former members of Congress, congressional staffers, reporters, lobbyists, lawyers, and others. Importantly, we checked with constituents across the nation, asking their views on individual members of Congress.
Our survey was not scientific, but was based on solid criteria, including a House member’s commitment to their job, their interest in constituent services and follow- up, their championing of issues and causes important to the national interest, their honesty, and their ability to get things done.
Our survey did not include ideological litmus tests, and it comprises a bipartisan roll call of the House’s greatest. We looked at each member’s concern and passion for the public good.
Here is our 2016 list of the 25 Hardest Working Members of Congress:
/..../
6. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — The three-term lawmaker’s capacity for hard work was hailed at the recent National Republican Congressional Committee dinner. A U.S. Air Force veteran of Iraq, he worked overtime in 2014 to secure congressional approval for an airstrike against Syrian strongman Assad — only to have the White House back off. His is a rising leadership star in the GOP.
/..../
Gatlin posted on 2018-02-13 00:27:13 Reply Private Reply
#7: Tooconservative To: Gatlin (#5)
Wait and see.
Good riddance to Kinzinger.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-02-13 13:01:12 Reply Private Reply
#8: Tooconservative To: Gatlin (#6)
He also was selfless back when he took on a man wielding a knife against a woman in public, probably saving her life. Around 2006 or so. He thought he'd die in trying to save her. Heroic enough.
I still want him out of Congress. Screw him.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-02-13 13:03:25 Reply Private Reply
#9: Gatlin To: Tooconservative (#8)
Gatlin posted on 2018-02-13 13:10:10 Reply Private Reply