Republican Senator: Ted Kennedy ‘Set a Wonderful Example for Us’

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass.) and Rep. John Boehner (R.-Ohio) stand behind President Bush as he signs the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. (White House photo)

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Lamar Alexander (R.-Tenn.) said on the Senate floor on Wednesday that the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass) set a wonderful example for other senators.

“He set a wonderful example for us, and it is nice to be reminded of him,” said Sen. Alexander.

Alexander’s remarks came while the Senate was discussing his proposal to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Act that imposes federal regulations and sends federal money to local public schools. The initial No Child Left Behind Act was co-sponsored by Kennedy and Rep. John Boehner (R.-Ohio) and signed into law in 2002 by President George W. Bush.

During Wednesday’s debate on the No Child Left Behind Act--while discussing whether the law should be amended to require local public schools to do a criminal background check on applicants for teaching jobs--Sen. Dick Durbin (D.-Ill.) recalled that Sen. Kennedy had once been placed on the terrorist No-Fly List:

“It wasn’t that many years ago, our colleagues may remember, that our colleague Senator Ted Kennedy ended up on a no-fly list. He kept saying: Why am I on a no-fly list? It was a mistake. It was a government mistake that identified him as a danger to the country. Mistakes can be made. There needs to be a due process requirement in here so those accused of something that they are not guilty of have a chance to have their day to tell their story as best they can.”

Following on this, Sen. Alexander recalled what “a wonderful example” Sen. Kennedy had been:

“I thank the Senator from Illinois for his remarks. I was thinking, as he was talking about Senator Kennedy, whom we all loved, I think the mistake was that he was on a Republican no-fly list. That was the mistake. But he loved telling that story and enjoyed it very much. It is nice to be reminded of him today because he was chairman of this committee that is producing the fix for No Child Left Behind.

"He would make, in my view, the most outrageous liberal speeches from the back of the Senate, and then he would come to the front of the Senate and would work out a good bipartisan agreement and get a good piece of legislation. He set a wonderful example for us, and it is nice to be reminded of him.

Via: CNS News

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[VIDEO] Ayotte: We Can’t Trust Obama But Let’s Do Amnesty Anyway

No, you don’t…Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) says she agrees that Republicans can’t trust President Obama to enforce the law, but they should immediately move forward on comprehensive immigration reform, anyway.

“Here’s the deal: The status quo is totally unacceptable,” Ayotte said on CBS News’ Face The Nation with Bob Schieffer on Sunday.

Ayotte, who rode the Tea Party wave in 2010 to her election to the Senate but has emerged as one of the upper chamber’s more liberal Republicans, conceded there is a “trust deficit” with Obama.

“There’s a trust deficit that the Speaker is facing right now and it’s related to ObamaCare and the disastrous rollout,” she said. “Because, let’s think about it, immigration means doing a lot of complex things well. And in addition to that, the administration keeps issuing executive orders to change the law, very frequently.”

Via: Brietbart

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Dems Propose Outrageous Minimum Wage Hike

Though it sounds good in theory, many conservatives view minimum wage laws as an impediment to the free market system. Nevertheless, Congress continues to demand that employers pay unskilled workers at an increasingly high rate.

Since 2007, the national minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour. A group of Democrat legislators recently advanced plans to address the issue, including a proposal by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin that would raise the hourly rate by almost 40 percent to a staggering $10.10.

Furthermore, wages would be directly influenced by the rate of inflation under Harkin’s proposal.

Not only would this cut deeply into the already thin profit margins of small businesses; it would force companies to make cutbacks and curtail hiring in many cases.

The Democrat senators met Thursday to kick around a few ideas, emerging from the conference with plenty of reasons to further besiege the private sector.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin called a rate spike “long overdue” as fellow senators touted the fact Barack Obama is on board with the initiative.

Via: The Western Center for Journalism

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THE STORY ABOUT DICK DURBIN AND A GOP LEADER SUPPOSEDLY DISRESPECTING OBAMA HAS TAKEN A REALLY WEIRD TURN

It turns out Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) did not actually hear a Republican House leader tell President Barack Obama, “I cannot even stand to look at you.”

Rather, Durbin heard about the alleged confrontation from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who supposedly heard it from an anonymous White House source.

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 15: (L-R) Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) (Getty Images)

Reid told his Democratic caucus about the alleged comment during a private meeting last week, two senatorsconfirmed to the Huffington Post.

White House press secretary Jay Carney on Wednesday denied Durbin’s initial charge, which he posted on Facebook Sunday. On Thursday, the administration reiterated that no confrontation between the president and a Republican congressman took place during recent budget negotiations, and apologized for what it characterized as a “miscommunication.”

“While the quote attributed to a Republican lawmaker in the House GOP meeting with the president is not accurate, there was a miscommunication when the White House read out that meeting to Senate Democrats, and we regret the misunderstanding,” a White House official told Talking Points Memo.

According to the Huffington Post, when pressed for details about what the White House told Democratic leaders that could have led to the “miscommunication,” a White House official said he was not “going to read out the details of private meetings with the president, or private meetings between [White House] and [Democratic] leaders.”

Via: The Blaze

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[VIDEO] Twitchy: Delusional: Dick Durbin mocked for calling Obamacare a ‘success’

Here are Durbin’s comments on “Fox News Sunday”:

Where do they come up with this stuff?

Via: Twitchy.com

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Durbin to GOP: Stop acting like ‘squealing political pigs’

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told House Republicans to stop acting like “squealing political pigs.”

“We need to act like adults not like squealing political pigs,” Durbin said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Durbin’s remarks were in reaction to a House Republican announcement that they would advance a government spending bill that defunds ObamaCare — something Democrats have said would lead to a government shut down.

“If that is what the Tea Party Republicans think is leadership, God save the United States of America,” Durbin said.

Unless Congress agrees on continued spending resolution (CR) by Oct. 1, the government will shut down.

Durbin said the situation was avoidable because it was a “self-imposed crisis” created by House Republicans.

Some Republicans have said the plan to tie government funding to an ObamaCare repeal is ill-conceived and will risk the economic recovery. But Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) needs Tea Party members to pass a spending resolution with solely GOP votes. Tea Party members have said this is the best chance Republicans have in repealing the law.

Via: The Hill

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Democrats Act to Stop Vitter Amendment, Keep Obamacare Exemptions for Congress

Democratic leaders increased their efforts on Tuesday to turn aside an amendment sponsored by Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, that would prevent Congressional members and staffers from receiving exemptions from key Obamacare measures.

When Congress passed the sweeping Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, Congressional members and their staff were exempted from several provisions of the law.

The Vitter amendment would change that and require the president and vice president to participate in mandated healthcare exchanges and would eliminate federal employer contributions for health benefits for the president, vice president, members of Congress, and political appointees. 

The amendment also would block tax credits for assistance in buying insurance on the exchanges for these individuals.

The Office of Personnel Management issued a directive, allowing staff to be eligible for subsidies for the coverage they currently have, which will pay for the majority of their healthcare insurance. Lawmakers were not included.

Democrats who passed the law are firing back at Vitter and his supporters.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois took to the Senate floor to defend the exemption, saying that allowing employer contributions for members of Congress and their staffs was simply asking "that this group of individuals be treated the same as every other American with health insurance through their employment."

Durbin, the Senate majority whip, said he fears "that this isn't the end of Sen. Vitter's crusade against health insurance by employers. I think this is the first step."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid joined the attack, saying Vitter's amendment was "hypocritical and mean-spirited." 

Via: Newsmax

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Obama Moving Gitmo Terrorists into Illinois?

AP File

Lawmakers claim administration opening door to Gitmo transfer with Illinois prison buy

The Obama administration plans to buy an Illinois prison that at one point was considered for housing Guantanamo prisoners, in a move Republican lawmakers claimed would open the door for ultimately carrying out that plan.

Administration officials, though, denied that they were looking for a new home for Guantanamo inmates. They insisted the decision to buy Thomson Correctional Center, an under-used state prison 150 miles west of Chicago, was a move to alleviate overcrowding and create jobs in the process.

"This is about public safety and 50 percent overcrowding in high-security prisons," one Justice Department official said.
Officials insisted Guantanamo detainees would not be coming to Illinois.

But Virginia Republican Rep. Frank Wolf, among the lawmakers who opposed the federal purchase of the prison, claimed Tuesday that the Obama administration could still carry out its plan -- perhaps by moving prisoners from another federal prison to Thomson, and then using that prison to house Guantanamo detainees.

"The president says his goal is to shut down Guantanamo Bay and move the prisoners here," Wolf told Fox News, accusing the administration of circumventing Congress. "This gives him a great opportunity to do it, particularly right after the election."

Wolf chairs a key House subcommittee overseeing the sale. He was referring to Obama's pledge immediately after taking office that he would shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp -- a pledge that stands as one of the president's most glaring unfulfilled promises to his base.

The move to transfer prisoners stateside, though, was met with a fierce backlash among some lawmakers who worried it would pose a security risk.

The Obama administration and Federal Bureau of Prisons is now going ahead with the $165 million purchase of the Illinois prison, though strictly as a move to ease overcrowding, they say. The move was first announced by Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Gov. Pat Quinn.

Via: Fox News

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