Conservative Happenings

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Poll: Republicans Pissed With GOP Leaders; Only 23 Percent Say They’re Keeping Promises And Challenging Obama…

Negative Views of New Congress Cross Party Lines

The new Republican-led Congress is drawing harsh reviews from the public – including most Republicans. Just 23% of Americans say congressional Republicans are keeping the promises they made during last fall’s campaign, while 65% say they are not.

Nearly four-in-ten (37%) say the new Congress has accomplished less than they expected, while 4% say it has accomplished more than expected. About half (53%) say its accomplishments are in line with what they expected.

On both measures, the public’s views are far more negative than they were of the Democratic-led Congress in March 2007, after the Democrats regained control of both chambers following several years of Republican control. Views are also much more negative than they were in April 1995, shortly after the GOP had gained control of the House and Senate for the first time in four decades.

The new national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted May 12-18 among 2,002 adults, finds that just 22% approve of the job performance of Republican congressional leaders, little changed since the summer of 2011. Ratings for Democratic congressional leaders are somewhat better (33% approve).

Republicans Are Critical of the New Congress and its Leaders

Unlike after some previous partisan turnovers on Capitol Hill, negative assessments of the new Congress now cross party lines. Today, just 41% of Republicans approve of the job their party’s leaders in Congress are doing. By comparison, in April 2011, 60% of Republicans approved of GOP leaders’ job performance and in April 1995, 78% approved of GOP leadership’s policies and proposals.

And just 37% of Republicans say their party’s leaders are keeping their campaign promises, while 53% say they are not. In 2011, after the party won its House majority, 54% said GOP leaders were keeping promises. And in April 1995 — as the Republican-led Congress hit the 100-day milestone — fully 80% of Republicans said this.

Democrats were also relatively upbeat about their party’s leaders at the 100-day mark in 2007, when 60% said Democratic leaders were keeping their campaign promises.

Currently, Republicans (36%) are about as likely as Democrats (38%) or independents (38%) to say Congress is accomplishing less than they expected.

Via: Pew Research Center

Why compassion for illegal immigration is wrong

Unchecked immigration is destroying our nation by undermining and overrunning the very institution that was built to harbor immigrants through the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution…

Don’t call it compassion when the president, elected officials or a candidate takes a stand that illegal immigrants deserve a pass to stay in this country and receive citizenship, let alone resident status. It is approval of America’s demise; an uncontrolled decimation of what the Founders established in the new world expressly to provide free exercise of faith, industry and speech.

What our forefathers pioneered was a new nation steeped in the acceptance of immigrants who wanted one thing—to escape the ancient order of tyranny. And they came from many countries to enjoy the newfound freedom that was available nowhere else in the world.

Today, the concept of true freedom to follow one’s individual faith and entrepreneurship is still only possible in one place, America, though that distinction is rapidly disappearing given the growth of theocracies and autocracies around the rest of the globe, and the importation of those liberty-crushing ideals on the back of illegal and state-sponsored immigration. The United States is also losing that exceptionalism due to the internal stresses brought about by fractional factionalists pressuring government for equality that is already in effect.

The reckless concept that special populations deserve special rights goes beyond the complete equality institutionalized by the Declaration of Independence from the beginning of this nation. It is creating privileged classes that oppress the majority of others who differ in opinions and lifestyles.

Why the new form of immigration is unacceptable is that it counters how and why America embraced immigrants over the generations. Immigration was encouraged to fill out the lands with productive individuals who purposefully left their past behind. They came with little or nothing, dreaming of a new life for their families, one that secured liberty from the old regime of oppression. My own forebears fled the pogroms of Russia, intent on basking in the freedom of America, not hauling along the tyranny of religious and antiquated European social prejudice.

Via: Canada Free Press

Democrats' Vanishing Future

May 21, 2015 One of the most underappreciated stories in recent years is the deterioration of the Democratic bench under President Obama's tenure in office. The party has become much more ideologically homogenous, losing most of its moderate wing as a result of the last two disastrous midterm elections. By one new catch-all measure, a party-strength index introduced by RealClearPolitics analysts Sean Trende and David Byler, Democrats are in their worst position since 1928. That dynamic has manifested itself in the Democratic presidential contest, where the bench is so barren that a flawed Hillary Clinton is barreling to an uncontested nomination.

But less attention has been paid to how the shrinking number of Democratic officeholders in the House and in statewide offices is affecting the party's Senate races. It's awfully unusual to see how dependent Democrats are in relying on former losing candidates as their standard-bearers in 2016. Wisconsin's Russ Feingold, Pennsylvania's Joe Sestak, Indiana's Baron Hill, and Ohio's Ted Strickland all ran underwhelming campaigns in losing office in 2010—and are looking to return to politics six years later. Party officials are courting former Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina to make a comeback bid, despite mediocre favorability ratings and the fact that she lost a race just months ago that most had expected her to win. All told, more than half of the Democrats' Senate challengers in 2016 are comeback candidates.

On one hand, most of these candidates are the best choices Democrats have. Feingold and Strickland are running ahead of GOP Sens. Ron Johnson and Rob Portman in recent polls. Hill and Hagan boast proven crossover appeal in GOP-leaning states that would be challenging pickups. Their presence in the race gives the party a fighting chance to retake the Senate.

But look more closely, and the reliance on former failures is a direct result of the party having no one else to turn to. If the brand-name challengers didn't run, the roster of up-and-coming prospects in the respective states is short. They're also facing an ominous historical reality that only two defeated senators have successfully returned to the upper chamber in the last six decades. As political analyst Stu Rothenberg put it, they're asking "voters to rehire them for a job from which they were fired." Senate Democrats are relying on these repeat candidates for the exact same reason that Democrats are comfortable with anointing Hillary Clinton for their presidential nomination: There aren't any better alternatives.

Via: National Journal

[VIDEO] AP REPORTER: CLINTON EVENTS ARE STAGED WITH ‘PRE-SELECTED, PRE-SCREENED’ SUPPORTERS

AP reporter Julie Pace was out with Hillary Clinton all week and says that people ought to know that these ‘authentic’ events Hillary has been holding where she talks to ‘real people’ aren’t really all that authentic after all:

Via: Right Scoop

[VIDEO] OBAMA: I HAVE BEEN CALLED ‘THE FIRST JEWISH PRESIDENT’

Friday in Washington, D.C. at the Jewish American Heritage Celebration, President Barack Obama told the audience The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg once called him the “first Jewish president.”

Obama said, “Most of all, I want to thank the entire congregation of Adas Israel for having me here today. Earlier this week, I was actually interviewed by one of your members, Jeff Goldberg. And Jeff reminded me he once called me the first Jewish president. Now, since some people still seem to be wondering about my faith, I should make clear this is an honorary title, but I was flattered. And as an honorary member of the tribe not to mention somebody who has hosted seven White House seders and has been advised by two Jewish chiefs of staff.”

Via: Breitbart

"Special Report" Runs Down Early 2016 GOP Primary Schedule

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Last night we announced the first GOP debate of the presidential season, August 6th in Cleveland, 11 weeks from now.

Fox News and Facebook will host. Tonight, how the primary calendar is shaping up. Here's senior national correspondent John Roberts.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: After the chaos of 2012, when a race to be first nearly pushed the Iowa caucuses into Christmas week, Republicans are counting on a far more orderly calendar this time around.

IOWA REPUBLICAN: We're confident it's going to be February 1st. We haven't heard any serious indications of any state jumping ahead of us.

ROBERTS: At the moment, Iowa will kick off the first of the primary season on the first of February.

New Hampshire follows a week later.

South Carolina is Saturday Feb. 20th with Nevada on the 23rd.

Under new rules laid down by the Republican National Committee, those are the only states that can go in February.

Anyone who tries to upset the apple cart will face harsh penalties.

REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC: In the past states could jump around and the penalties were basically slaps on the wrist. And they really weren't upheld. Where nowadays the rules that we've changed actually almost completely eliminate a state's relevancy.

ROBERTS: March 1st is the next big date highlighted by the primary in Texas, a so-called S.E.C. primary, banding together with Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas.

GEORGIA REPUBLICAN: It's well warranted. The south is growing. There's a lot of people moving here. We should be involved in the process of deciding who the nominees will be.

ROBERTS: By March 8th, some 50% of delegates will be awarded but in such a wide field no one may have broken from the pack.

Which makes the March 15th contest in Florida extremely important. It will be the first winner take all state.

It's then that a clear front runner may emerge or as some Republicans fear, a prolonged battle may shape up.

PREIBUS: I think we've set it up in such a way to give us the best process that allows for the most participation and a quicker resolution. Now, that doesn't mean it's always going to happen that way.

ROBERTS: And while Iowans are at the moment confident their outsized influence will be preserved, don't expect they'll take any challenge to their supremacy lying down...

Much of the primary calendar remains in flux with many states still considering moves. While there may not be a competition to go first, it's clear everyone wants a bigger say in who the nominee is.

Via: Real Clear Politics

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Friday, May 22, 2015

Iraq’s Decline into Chaos Traces Back to 2011, Not 2003 by CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

State coalition so grandly proclaimed by the Obama administration is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it’s the defense minister of Iran who flies into Baghdad, an unsubtle demonstration of who’s in charge — while the U.S. air campaign proves futile and America’s alleged strategy for combating the Islamic State is in free fall. It gets worse. The Gulf States’ top leaders, betrayed and bitter, ostentatiously boycott President Obama’s failed Camp David summit. “We were America’s best friend in the Arab world for 50 years,” laments Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief.

Note: “were,” not “are.” We are scraping bottom. Following six years of President Obama’s steady and determined withdrawal from the Middle East, America’s standing in the region has collapsed. And yet the question incessantly asked of the various presidential candidates is not about that. It’s a retrospective hypothetical: Would you have invaded Iraq in 2003 if you had known then what we know now? RELATED: Obama’s Ludicrous Middle East Policy First, the question is not just a hypothetical, but an inherently impossible hypothetical. It contradicts itself. Had we known there were no weapons of mass destruction, the very question would not have arisen. The premise of the war — the basis for going to the U.N., to the Congress, and, indeed, to the nation — was Iraq’s possession of WMD in violation of the central condition for the cease-fire that ended the first Gulf War. No WMD, no hypothetical to answer in the first place. Second, the “if you knew then” question implicitly locates the origin and cause of the current disasters in 2003. As if the fall of Ramadi was predetermined then, as if the author of the current regional collapse is George W. Bush.

Via: National Review

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State Dept. Releases Hillary’s Benghazi Emails, Site Quickly Crashes

The State Department today released Hillary Clinton‘s Benghazi emails, and the website they posted them to very quickly crashed.

Earlier this week the department said they’d be releasing a full report on Clinton’s emails in time, with a planned release date in January 2016. A federal judge rejected that and ordered a “rolling release” of the emails instead.

They released roughly 300 emails today, reportedly including all of Clinton’s Benghazi-related emails, tweeting this out beforehand:

‏@StateDept

The emails we release today do not change the essential facts or our understanding of the events before, during, or after the attacks.

How Obama Radically Transformed America's Patent System by Michelle Malkin

Patent law is not something most Americans are passionate about or have ever contemplated — which is exactly why the Obama White House and Congress got away with making radical changes to our time-tested traditions of protecting the fruits of entrepreneurial inventors' labor.

It's yet another progressive horror story of abandoning what works in the name of what's politically trendy. For left-wing saboteurs and their Big Business GOP enablers, this means throwing our unique patent system and its constitutional underpinnings under an 18-wheeler. So-called "patent reform" proposals continue to plague Capitol Hill. But like health care "reform" and education "reform," these government cures are worse than any purported disease.

As part of his ongoing bid to "fundamentally transform" America, President Obama signed the Orwellian-titled America Invents Act (AIA) in 2011. If truth-in-advertising laws applied to politicians who front massively complex bills that do the opposite of what they proclaim to do, these hucksters would be jailed for their patently fraudulent "reform" legislation. Co-sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the law was marketed as a job-creation vehicle that would relieve a backlog of an estimated 700,000 patent applications and crack down on patent "trolls" supposedly abusing the system through frivolous litigation against alleged infringers.

In truth, the AIA and its legislative successors are special interest boondoggles that enrich corporate lawyers, Big Business and federal bureaucrats at the expense of the independent inventors and fledgling innovators the American patent system was created to protect and encourage.

The AIA's primary agenda? "Harmonizing" our patent laws with the rest of the world to reward paper-pushers who are "first to file" at the patent office, instead of those who are "first to invent." These and other measures enacted by Obama threaten to drive garage tinkerers and small inventors — the designers, engineers and builders of American prosperity — out of the marketplace. Longtime venture capitalist Gary Lauder noted that the first-to-file system has suppressed solo and small-business innovation in Europe and Japan. "The U.S. gets 10 times the angel and venture capital of Western Europe — which recently declared an 'innovation emergency,'" Lauder observed. "So why are we harmonizing with them? They should be harmonizing with us."

Via: CNS News
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California: Berkeley soda tax: First month's take, $116,000

BERKELEY -- Several City Council members and other boosters of Berkeley's first-in-the-nation soda tax giddily reported the first month's haul -- $116,000 -- on the steps of the municipal office building on Milvia Street on Monday.

Councilman Laurie Capitelli, a prominent booster of the freshly enacted tax, projected the first year's proceeds at about $1.2 million.

On Nov. 4, voters approved Measure D, a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on the distribution of most sugar-sweetened beverages, by a better than 3-1 margin, even though, as a general tax with proceeds to go into the general fund, it needed only a simple majority.

The city did not estimate what the tax might bring in, but unofficial estimates from proponents had pegged the annual take at anywhere from $1 million to $2 million.

A shelf of diet and regular soft drinks sit in a refrigerator at a market in San Francisco. (Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)

"What we really want to do, in 10 years, is collect no (soda) tax," Capitelli said during Monday's news conference, at which council members Linda Maio and Max Anderson spoke. Councilman Kriss Worthington also attended. The hope, Capitelli said, was that people would stop consuming unhealthy beverages altogether.

Standing on the periphery of the news conference was Roger Salazar, spokesman for the No on D campaign, which had argued that the tax would be a government cash grab that could be spent on anything politicians desire, without any guarantee it would go to any health-related programs, despite promises by proponents that its proceeds would go to nutrition and education programs.

Via: Contra Costa Times

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CLINTON FOUNDATION DISCLOSES MILLIONS IN ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS UNDER PRESSURE

The Clinton Foundation reported Thursday that it has received as much as $26.4 million in previously undisclosed payments from major corporations, universities, foreign sources and other groups.

Thursday’s disclosure is one of a number of instances in recent weeks in which the foundation has acknowledged that it received funding from sources not disclosed on its Web site.

The ethics agreement was reached between the foundation and the Obama administration to provide additional transparency and avoid potential conflicts of interest with Hillary Clinton’s appointment as secretary of state.

The agreement placed restrictions on foreign government donations, for instance, but the foundation revealed in February that it had violated the limits at one point by taking $500,000 from Algeria.

There was one entity clearly associated with a foreign government that provided speaking fees, of $250,000 to $500,000 for a speech by Bill Clinton: The energy ministry in Thailand.

The U.S. Islamic World Forum also provided $250,000 to $500,000 to the foundation for a speech by Bill Clinton, according to the new disclosure. The event was organized in part by the Brookings Institution with support from the government of Qatar.

Via: Breitbart

How The New Deal Created The Ghetto

A recurring theme on this blog has been that big government creates problems that often necessitate even bigger government to solve.

(A quick example: Wage and price controls — coupled with favorable tax treatment for businesses to provide health insurance — linked health care with employment, a distortion that resulted in the skyrocketing the cost of health care. Eventually, this government-created problem had to be fixed, by — you guessed it! — more government.)

In the wake of the Baltimore riots, it is appropriate to consider government’s role in creating a tinderbox that perpetuates poverty and a cycle of abuse. Not only was Jim Crow state-sponsored segregation, but — 50 years after the repeal of those horrific laws — ghettos that were specifically and intentionally created by government are still trapping Americans and destroying lives.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how “progressive reformers” were to blame for Baltimore. And, more recently, Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, was on NPR’s Fresh Air to further explain how “explicit, racially purposeful” policies contributed.

Via: Daily Caller

POLL: HILLARY CLINTON SHOWS NEW WEAKNESS IN CALIFORNIA

Hillary Clinton dropped six points over the last three months as the preferred Democratic presidential candidate in the latest California Field Poll.

In February Clinton maintained a 59% support from likely California Democratic voters, but dropped to 53% in May.

The decline may be attributed to revelations about Clinton’s destruction of 30,000 emails, her use of a personal computer server to conduct state department business, and controversy surrounding alleged influence pedaling by her and husband, former president Bill Clinton, while she was secretary of state.

Although the poll shows that less than half of the Democrats surveyed are enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, her lead over Republican front runners is still impressive.

The Democratic frontrunner’s closest competitors on the Republican side are

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)

81%

, who would lose by a 53-32% margin, and Jeb Bush would be defeated by 52-31% among all California likely voters.

If Clinton wins the overall Democratic nomination, her victory in the Golden State is a shoe-in considering that California is one of the bluest of all the blue states.

Via: Breitbart

[VIDEO] Vital VA hospital project in limbo as price tag soars, lawmakers vow no ‘bail-out’

NOT SHOVEL READY

Nearly one year after a new VA secretary vowed to clean up a broken health care system for America's veterans, a vital new hospital hangs in the balance as lawmakers and the agency fight over how to pay for it.

The dispute came to a head this week as construction on the medical center in Aurora, Colo., was poised to grind to a halt Sunday without congressional approval for more spending beyond the current $800 million.

On Friday, it appeared both sides had found a stopgap solution. After what one aide called grueling discussions between lawmakers and the VA, the House was able to pass a temporary fix that would keep things moving -- for three more weeks. The Senate is expected to pass a similar agreement on Friday, sources tell FoxNews.com.

But for a project whose estimated costs have ballooned to $1.73 billion, the funding Band-Aid does not solve the long-term issue.

"This is by no means a solution to the problems in Denver, which VA leaders created and are refusing to take responsibility for," said Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. "Rather it is a last-chance effort to convince VA and Obama administration leaders to take the department's problems seriously."

Via Fox News

[VIDEO] 2 'homegrown' jihadists nabbed in California on way to join ISIS, say officials

Two California men described as "homegrown violent extremists"were due in federal court Friday after they were arrested late Thursday while in the process of heading overseas to join ISIS, authorities said.

Muhanad Badawi and Nader Elhuzayel, both 24 and of Anaheim, were nabbed by the Orange County Joint Terrorism Task Force, Elhuzayel at Los Angeles International Airport and Badawi in Orange County. The task force includes officials from the FBI, Anaheim Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. A senior law enforcement official told Fox News the arrests were “related” to national security, but that the public were never in danger.

Prosecutors charged the men with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group.

Both men were described as "homegrown violent extremists" who were heading overseas, according to two sources who spoke to the Los Angeles Times. The suspects are due in federal court in Santa Ana Friday.

According to the complaint, Badawi and Elhuzayel used social media to discuss terrorist attacks and expressed a desire to die as martyrs.

According to the complaint, Elhuzayel asked Badawi "can you imagine when Al Qaeda joins with Islamic State?" to which Badawi allegedly responded: "we will be huge."

Via: Fox News

Saturday, May 23, 2015

"Special Report" Runs Down Early 2016 GOP Primary Schedule

Friday, May 22, 2015

Hillary Clinton dropped six points over the last three months as the preferred Democratic presidential candidate in the latest California Field Poll.

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