Conservative Happenings

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Wallace Grills DeMint Over Shutdown Threat: ‘Don’t Take A Hostage Unless You’re Prepared To Shoot Them’

On Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace went after former Senator and current Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint for the threats emerging from the conservative wing of the Republican Party to shut down the government over Obamacare funding, noting that even many GOP lawmakers had called the strategy “crazy” and suicidal.”

“This may be the last opportunity to stop it,” DeMint responded. “There’s no Republican that I’m aware of who wants to shut the government down. The whole point is we need to fund the government but we should not fund Obamacare, as this is a temporary funding mechanism that’s coming up in September. This is a statement—”

“You don’t take a hostage unless you’re prepared to shoot them,” Wallace pressed. “Are you prepared to shut down the government?”

“If Obama would not accept the funding bill that fully funds the government because it didn’t have his failed law in it, then he would be shutting down the government,” DeMint said. “I’m convinced the more Americans know about Obamacare, the more they’re going to stand with those of us who want to stop it.”

Though he was what Wallace called “disappointingly diplomatic,” Bill Kristol criticized DeMint’s strategy. “I think there are more intelligent and perhaps more ways tactically to fight than simply saying, ‘We’re going to defund all of Obamacare and voting for any continuing resolution that doesn’t fully defund Obamacare is surrender,’” he said. “It’s going to be very hard to fully defund Obamacare with President Obama as president.”

“This GOP infighting is taking focus off problems with the law, and putting it on deep divisions within the Republican Party,” Howard Kurtz argued. “A lot of mainstream Republicans are upset, even angry at what you might call the bomb-throwing wing of the party for these kinds of threats…This is feel good politics, it’s a political statement, it makes your base feel good, but ultimately it disappoints those who are on your side. When you only control one half of the legislative branch, you can’t force your will on the rest of it.”

Watch the full segment below, via Fox News:

Via: Mediaite.com

DHS EMAIL: 'WE ABSOLUTELY GAVE SPECIAL TREATMENT TO GREENTECH' VISA REQUESTS

An April 2013 email from a career Department of Homeland Security official released on Friday by the office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) stated that the Department of Homeland Security "absolutely gave special treatment" to green card visa applications filed by foreign national EB-5 investors in GreenTech Automotive, the company Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe served as chairman of from 2010 to 2012.

In the released email, the names of the sender as well as the recipient have been redacted, but both are described as "career DHS officials." The text of the email also refers to a person called "D1," which Senator Grassley's office believes is US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Alejandro Mayorkas. President Obama nominated Mayorkas to become Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on June 27.

Mr. Mayorkas testified before a Senate committee holding hearings on his nomination on July 25. The hearings were attended by only Democrats. Republicans did not participatebecause Mr. Mayorkas is the subject of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General's Office.

The email, dated April 12, 2013, is from a "Senior USCIS Career Official" and is sent to "USCIS Career Officials." It reads as follows:

We absolutely gave special treatment to GreenTech at the directive of D1. D1 was working directly with the RC's [EB-5 Regional Center] atty, [name redacted]. Additionally, I would call a wholesale rewrite of the AAO's [Administrative Appeals Office] decision by the front office special treatment. Look at the first draft in the attached email and the final version, attached.

Senator Grassley asked Mr. Mayorkas about an apparent inconsistency between this email and his earlier testimony in a letter he sent to Mr. Mayorkas on Thursday. Grassley wrote to Mayorkas that "you testified [on July 25]: 'I have never ever in my career exercised undue influence to influence the outcome of a case.'" Grassley noted in his letter to Mayorkas that "D1 [mentioned in the April 12, 2013 email] is an apparent reference to you."

Via: Breitbart

Five years later, an evolving Tea Party movement wades into the 2014 elections

This wasn't the revolution the Tea Party had in mind.

Four years ago, the movement and its potent mix of anger and populism persuaded thousands of costumed and sign-waving conservatives to protest the ballooning deficit and President Obama's health care law. It swept a crop of no-compromise lawmakers into Congress and governor's offices and transformed political up-and-comers, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, into household names.

But as many Tea Party stars seek re-election next year and Rubio considers a 2016 presidential run, conservative activists are finding themselves at a crossroads. Many of their standard-bearers have embraced more moderate positions on bedrock issues such as immigration and health care, broadening their appeal in swing states but dampening grass-roots passion.

"They keep sticking their finger in the eyes of the guys who got them elected," said Ralph King, a co-founder of the Cleveland Tea Party Patriots. "A lot of people are feeling betrayed."

The Tea Party is a loosely knit web of activists, and some are hoping to rekindle the fire with 2014 primary challenges to wayward Republicans. But many more say they plan to sit out high-profile races in some important swing states next year, a move that GOP leaders fear could imperil the re-election prospects of former tea party luminaries, including the governors of Florida and Ohio.

"It changes the playing field for us," said Tom Gaitens, former Florida director of FreedomWorks, a political action committee that has spent millions of dollars to help tea party candidates. "The most powerful thing we have as a movement is our feet and our vote."

Via: Fox News

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California: Unemployment Insurance Fix Requires More than Taxes

The Brown Administration is looking for a solution to the $10-billion owed to the federal government for loans to cover Unemployment Insurance payments. Much talk revolves around tax increases on business to cover the debt. But, any fix should include reforms to the system.

Paying higher taxes means less money for business to hire the unemployed workers – the best answer for the worker and the best way to heal the California economy. Steep tax increases are a deterrent for businesses to hire.

Yet, the unemployment insurance debt must be dealt with.

California suffered some of the highest unemployment in the nation during the Great Recession – in fact California’s unemployment is still high even though the numbers are better today – and with the state’s large population, to cover so many people out of work, the state borrowed.

While California businesses with employees receive a credit against their federal unemployment tax (employers also pay a state unemployment tax), employers are subject to a credit reduction each year while the debt is outstanding. With the credit reduced, employers’ federal unemployment tax goes up. Each year that the tax credit is reduced, the federal tax increases about $21 per employee. Statewide, that can add up to billions in short order.

What the business community hopes to get from the administration is a balanced fix to the problem that won’t discourage job creation while dealing with system reforms including benefit eligibility and fraud issues among other points.

Most business leaders expect taxes will be part of the fix formula – it should not be the major part of the formula.

Via: California Political Review

Mr. President: Economic Growth Lessons from America's North

President Barack Obama's "Grand Bargain" tour is underway, with plans for Air Force One to drop the commander-in-chief at various locales across the fruited plain so he can campaign for his pie-in-the-sky economic proposals. Among other proposals supposedly meant to revive the Obama-led stagnant economy, he's clamoring for an increase in the minimum wage, to build new roads and bridges, and to create additional government programs.

These and his other ideas are nothing more than an attempt at artificial economic and wage growth through government-mandated spending or wage increases. These same types of proposal have contributed to our current sluggish economy. Nothing new to see here.

Were the president actually serious about turning his economy around, a blueprint exists in our own backyard. It has produced massive economic and wage growth and the corresponding building of new infrastructure, and it's not based upon government spending or mandates.

Instead, it's market-driven, and it can be seen some 2,000 miles from Washington, D.C.

It's called North Dakota.

The economic contrasts between North Dakota and the overall nation are stunning. While 14.0% of Americans are underemployed and only 63.4% of Americans are actually in the labor force, companies and organizations are begging for workers in the Roughrider State.

Via: American Thinker

Many new jobs are part-time and low-paying

Many of the jobs created recently are part-time and in low-wage industries, such as in retail and restaurants.

U.S. employers added a disappointing 162,000 jobs in July, but some economists are even more concerned about the types of jobs the economy is generating.

Job growth in recent months has skewed toward part-time work in low-wage industries, and that trend continued in July, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show.

Retailers led job gains with 47,000, and restaurants and bars added 38,000. All told, four low-paying sectors — retail, restaurants, temporary staffing firms and home health care — accounted for 60% of the jobs added in July, though they make up just 22% of total employment, according to an analysis by Wells Fargo. So far this year, the four sectors have accounted for 45% of the nation's 1.3 million payroll additions.

FIRST TAKE: 4 steps to higher job gains

"A large portion of the jobs we're adding tend to be in low-skill occupations," says Wells Fargo senior economist Mark Vitner.

The trend appears to have improved the job prospects of less educated Americans. Employment for high school graduates increased by nearly 400,000 in July, while payrolls for those with at least a four-year college degree fell by 256,000.

Many of the new jobs, however, are part-time, especially in stores and restaurants. The number of Americans who usually work part-time jumped 174,000 last month, but totals for those who usually work full-time rose by just 92,000. Since March, the ranks of part-timers have swelled by 791,000 vs. 187,000 for full-timers.

Via: USA Today

Democratic governors nervous about ObamaCare

MILWAUKEE – Democratic governors say they are nervous about getting the new federal health care law implemented but add they will be better positioned in next year's elections than many of their Republican counterparts who have resisted the far-reaching and politically polarizing measure.

Several of the 12 Democratic governors shared that sense of nervousness-veiled-by-optimism at the National Governors Association meeting Saturday in Milwaukee.

"There's some angst, and you can see that from the decision the administration made a couple weeks ago," said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell. "There's a lot of work to do."

By next Jan. 1, most people will be required to have insurance. States have to set up exchanges by Oct. 1, when uninsured individuals can start buying subsidized private health coverage that would go into effect Jan 1, and businesses with more than 50 employees working 30 or more hours a week were supposed to offer affordable health care to their workers or risk a series of escalating tax penalties.

But businesses said they needed more time, and on July 2, President Barack Obama's administration abruptly extended the deadline one year -- to Jan. 1, 2015.

That caused some Democrats in Congress to worry the program would not be ready on time, as states are building online platforms for their residents to use to comply with the law. Although the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in June 2012, the Republican-controlled House has voted 40 times since Obama signed the law in 2010 to repeal, defund or scale it back, most recently Friday.

Via: Fox News

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Poll: Majority Of Democrats, Minorities, And Middle-Income Voters Want A Federal Bailout For Detroit

OF COURSE THEY DO!!!

In the wake of the city of Detroit filing for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy, the question of whether or not the federal government should bail out the city has resulted in a fierce political debate. According to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Friday, a narrow majority of self-described Democrats favor a federal bailout for Detroit while self-identified Republicans and independents strongly oppose a bailout. Minority voters and those making less than $50,000 also favor a federal bailout of the city.

“Do you think that there should or should not be a federal government bailout of Detroit?” Quinnipiac asked respondents.

A total of 57 percent of all registered voters oppose a federal bailout for the Motor City, while 33 percent would support that measure. A majority – 51 percent – of Democrats think that the federal government should bail out the city, while only 18 percent of Republicans and 28 percent of independents agree.

65 percent of independents and 73 percent of Republicans think the city should work out its financial problems on its own. They are joined by 35 percent of Democrats.

A majority of men and women agree that Detroit should not receive a bailout, but the results differ dramatically along racial lines. 63 percent of white voters say Detroit should not receive a bailout while 57 percent of black voters and 48 percent of Hispanic voters believe Washington should bail the city out.

While a plurality or a majority of voters across all age groups oppose a federal bailout for the Motor City, a majority of voters making under $50,000 per year believe a bailout should be in the offing for the city. Those voters making more than $50,000 per year oppose a bailout.

This poll was conducted from July 28 – 31 of 1,468 registered voters with a margin of +/- 2.6 percent.

Via: Mediaite

New Americans for Prosperity Ad: Doctors ‘Worried’ about Obamacare

AFP launches biggest ad buy of the year in Va., Ohio, featuring critical doctors

A top conservative nonprofit group is airing a television ad this week that aims to drive home what the group says are potentially catastrophic consequences of the Affordable Care Act for the nation’s doctors.

Americans for Prosperity, which took out the seven figure ad buy this week, says the campaign is an attempt to relay the personal consequences of Obamacare, as the law is commonly known.

The ad, titled “Doctor Questions,” features Dr. Mary Ellen Gallagher, a family doctor and pediatrician. “I’ve treated sick kids for 15 years,” Gallagher says. “Obamacare has me worried.”

“Now I wonder, can I still work with parents to decide what’s best for their kids, or will the government be in the middle of things?” she asks.

The spot, which will air in Ohio and Virginia, is AFP’s largest ad buy of the year, and the second in a series that AFP spokesman Levi Russell said is designed to convey the law’s defects on a personal, emotional level.

“Obamacare is going to result in far more anecdotes and personal testimonies of its problems – the increased costs and the diminished choice and the regulatory strains – than it will positive stories,” Levi said.

“I think that we need to show what the real impact is on people,” he added.

Health care policy experts said the law’s expected effects on the nation’s doctors could be disastrous, but have not received much attention.

“Obamacare’s implementation is already pushing doctors in small practices toward shutting down, seeking early retirement, or moving into larger practices with the infrastructure to handle the bureaucratic burdens and reporting requirements,” said Ben Domenech, the managing editor of Health Care News at the Heartland Institute.

Via: WFB

House Republicans feel summer recess heat on immigration

House Republicans are facing heavy pressure from both sides of the immigration debate as they return to their home districts for August recess with no clear indication as to how they’ll vote on the issue.

The decision to pass comprehensive immigration reform has essentially been in the hands of the Republican-controlled House since the Democrat-led Senate passed such a bill in June.

House Republicans were under pressure before they even left their Capitol Hill offices to start the five-week recess, which is traditionally dedicated to face-to-face talks with hometown voters.

The American Federation of Government Employees sent a letter Tuesday to House lawmakers urging them not to work with senators on their “dangerous” bill.

Among the major concerns is that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not equipped to process the potential onslaught of new applications.

Another is that the Obama administration might implement immigration law passed by Congress “in a fashion of its own choosing,” considering that it bypassed Congress last summer by stopping the deportation of young, law-abiding immigrants brought to the United States illegally by their parents or others, the union letter suggests.

The Senate bill includes billions of dollars for border security, new workplace enforcement requirements, a revamped legal immigration system and a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally.

Many House Republicans oppose granting citizenship to people who crossed the border illegally or overstayed their visas. And GOP leaders have already rejected the Senate bill, instead proceeding with narrow, single-issue bills, starting with border security.

House Speaker John Boehner has said he wants a vote on immigration reform.

However, before leaving Washington, Republican leadership also appeared more focused on repealing or defunding ObamaCare, to perhaps avoid the rancorous kind of town-hall style meetings over health care that took place in summer 2009.

Via: Fox News

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Many of the jobs created recently are part-time and in low-wage industries, such as in retail and restaurants.

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