The REAL Speakership Vote of January 6, 2015

Was it all a head-fake, folks? A scam? The usual game of misdirection?

So...  twenty-five (25) "brave Republicans" voted "against" Boehner yesterday....

So we're told...

But did they?

Justin Amash (R-MI) voted for Jim Jordan; Jim Jordan (R-OH) voted for...

(*DRUM ROLL*)

...none other than John Boehner.

(*HEADACHE*)

Brian Babin (R-TX) voted "present" - a real profile in courage, huh?

Dave Brat (R-VA) voted for Trey Gowdy; Trey Gowdy (R-SC) voted for...

(*DING-DING-DING*)

...no one. (Seems the congressman couldn't "make it" to work yesterday in time to vote.)

HOWEVER... Gowdy, in an official statement, said his support [did] lie with Boehner ... "Had our flight not been cancelled, I would have voted for our Conference nominee, John Boehner.”

In fact, folks... while Gowdy himself might not want to remind you of this, I will: Gowdy seconded Boehner’s nomination as Speaker during the closed-door GOP leadership elections back in November.

(And supposedly Gowdy is the next "Great Conservative Hope...")

(*SIGH*)

More? Sure!

(Folks... ya can't make this $hit up!)

Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) - like Amash - also voted for... er... Boehnerite Jim Jordan.

Jeff Duncan (R-SC) - like Brat - also voted for...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

...Boehnerite Trey Gowdy.

Chris Gibson (R-NY) voted for Kevin McCarthy - a true Boehnerite... (In fact, Boehner appointed McCarthy House Majority Leader this past August.)

Gary Palmer (R-AL) cast his vote for "Sessions of Alabama."

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

Curt Clawson (R-FL) voted for Senator Rand Paul. (Better! At least Clawson was publicly aligning himself with the Tea Party!)

Louie Gohmert (R-TX) voted for himself...

Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) voted for Louie Gohmert...

Randy Weber (R-TX) voted for Louie Gohmert..

Ted Yoho (R-FL) voted for himself...

Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted for Ted Yoho...

(*SILENT PAUSE*)

Folks... does this sound like the concerted effort of serious men who are ready to fight for the soul of the GOP?

Hey... Gohmert ran... he got two votes plus his own.

Yoho stood up for himself and Massie stood with him.

(*DEEP BREATH*) (*EXHALE*)

But, folks... what you just read represents a satire at best... a joke... or perhaps a scam...

Thirteen (13) of the supposed "Twenty-five (25) Republican Heroes" - to one extent or another - simply cast "protest" votes. This was not a serious attempt to topple Boehner.

This leaves twelve (12):

Voting for Dan Webster (R-FL) were Rod Blum (R-IA); Scott Garrett (R-NJ); Paul Gosar (R-AZ); Tim Huelskamp (R-KS); Walter Jones (R-NC); Steve King (R-IA); Mark Meadows (R-NC); Richard Nugent (R-FL); Bill Posey (R-FL); Scott Rigell (R-VA); Marlin Stutzman (IN-3); and... last but not least... Webster himself.

(*SHRUG*)

At least a semi-serious effort.

(*TAPPING MY FINGERS ON THE DESK WHILE PAUSING*)

Alan Nunnelee (R-MS) did not vote. (He's been ill; hospitalized.)

Don Young (R-AK) did not vote. (Don’t know why... don't care why...)

Here's the bottom line my friends: Out of two-hundred and forty-five (245) possible anti-Boehner votes in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, the anti-Boehner, anti-RINO forces were able to muster (counting liberally!) twenty-five Republicans to oppose the status quo!

Twenty-five...

...versus...

Two-hundred and twenty Boehnerites.

What were the polls saying prior to the election? They were reporting that 60%-65% of Republicans polled DIDN'T want Boehner re-elected as Speaker. And yet... two-hundred and twenty-five 225 RINOs told the Republican electorate to go screw itself.

Clearly the Democratic Party doesn't represent Republican Americans...

Just as clearly... neither does today's GOP.

We're in trouble, folks; deep, deep trouble.

Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Well, folks, today's the day. Boehner will either be re-elected or toppled. The "smart money" is on Boehner's re-election to the Speakership.

Yesterday Rush Limbaugh betrayed his audience... his radio family. I don't know why. Did "they" get to him? Did Boehner and McConnell get word to Limbaugh that if he tried to "intervene" - and failed - that they'd retaliate by working with Obama and the Dems to restore the obscenely misnamed "Fairness Doctrine," or perhaps even the old "equal time rule?"

Beck is fighting. Hannity is fighting. Levin is fighting. Perhaps Rush is back on drugs?

I don't have a Republican Member of the House (or the Senate for that matter). I'm actually happy about that. Had RINO retread Nan Hayworth won back "her" old seat last November there's simply no doubt that she'd be aligned with the Boehner forces.

Boehner is the problem - not the solution. ANY Republican Member of the House who votes for Boehner's re-election will be announcing that he or she is also the problem - not the solution.

Barker's Newsbites: Monday, January 5, 2015

By Congressman David Brat (R-VA)

(The man who "took out" RINO Eric Cantor!)

*  *  *  *  *

Whoever runs for the Republican leadership of the U.S. House on Tuesday must communicate on paper how Congress is going to lead on the big issues.

The American people elected us to solve trillion-dollar problems, not to kick the can down the road with only symbolic votes. My district expects any leader to clearly outline bold solutions on the major issues of our day, such as:

How he (or she) will defend the Constitution and challenge President Obama’s repeated illegal overreach into areas of congressional authority, particularly his unconstitutional amnesty by presidential decree;

How he will end Washington’s out-of-control spending and debt addiction that is mortgaging our children’s future and promises to cripple our economy within the next decade;

How he will defund ObamaCare to stop skyrocketing insurance premiums on struggling families as well as the destruction of jobs it’s causing;

How he will stop excessive regulations like the EPA’s over-regulation of farms and small businesses – regulations that have made it prohibitively expensive to run a business and create jobs.

These are not just my priorities. These are the priorities that the American people expressed loudly and clearly on November 4th. And these need to be the priorities of the leaders of this next Congress.

These are reasonable positions. So when reason is losing the argument, it’s clear that something else is taking its place – personal interests over what’s in the best interest of the country. The American people know they are being short-changed, and they want action, not talking points.

Our current leadership was recently tested when Mr. Obama attempted to circumvent Congress and the law by unilaterally granting amnesty to illegal immigrants by "presidential decree." His "decree" provides illegal immigrants with work permits, legal status, and free federal entitlements. But on a much more significant front, his action shows a complete disregard for our constitutional system where Congress makes the laws and the president’s duty is to enforce them.

The House leadership and every member of Congress took an oath to defend the Constitution, and we have a duty to stop the president when he ignores it. The most powerful remedy the Congress has in these situations is the power to defund his illegal action.

We had an opportunity to do that last month when Representatives Mick Mulvaney, Matt Salmon, and I led in co-sponsoring an amendment to the CRomnibus spending bill that would have stripped it of funding for executive amnesty. We were joined by 64 other House members, but were told that there was no time to amend the bill before the vote. That meant the CRomnibus bill passed and provided the president with the funds for his scheme.

* IT'S ACTUALLY WORSE THAN THAT, FOLKS; REPUBLICAN LEADERS ACTUALLY LIED TO CERTAIN MEMBERS, PROMISING THEM THAT IF THEY SWITCHED THEIR VOTE AND WENT ALONG WITH BOEHNER THAT BOEHNER WOULD THEN "PULL" THE BILL HIMSELF - THUS "SAVING A MEASURE OF FACE." INSTEAD, THE MOMENT HE HAD HIS ILL-GOTTEN VOTES, BOEHNER RAMMED THE CROMNIBUS BILL THROUGH.

Why was there no time to amend the bill? Because the leadership hid the 1,774-page CRomnibus from members of Congress and the public until the last minute, giving us just 48 hours to try to read through it before voting on it.

* "THE LEADERSHIP" WAS/IS EFFECTIVELY JOHN BOEHNER.

Further, why did the leadership allow funding for illegal amnesty to be included in the bill in the first place? And why was the leadership willing to whip votes with the president and the House Democrats to pass the bill, but not willing to work with House Republicans to stop the funding of an illegal act?

* TO ANSWER THE QUESTION: BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT BOEHNER ORDERED.

But the CRomnibus didn’t just fund illegal amnesty. It was a $1.1 trillion spending bill that did nothing to reduce spending or work toward balancing the budget. It also funded ObamaCare when the House had pledged to repeal it. And it funded the economy-killing over-regulation of agencies like the EPA, which are destroying American jobs when we have millions looking for work.

* TRUE... TRUE... TRUE... ALL TRUE!

In recent days and weeks, I have given careful consideration as to how I would cast my vote for Speaker of the House. I do not cast this vote as an individual, but on behalf of the citizens of Virginia’s Seventh District who sent me to Washington to act as their representative. While I like Speaker Boehner personally, he will not have my support for Speaker.

* JUST AS A SIDE-NOTE... IT DISGUSTS ME WHEN POLITICIANS FEEL THE NEED TO THROW OUT STATEMENTS SUCH AS "I LIKE THE SPEAKER PERSONALLY." WHY? HOW? THE SPEAKERS IS A SCUMBAG. (HOW MANY OF YOU "LIKE" SCUMBAGS?)

Washington is broken in part because our party’s leadership has strayed from its own principles of free market, limited government, constitutional conservatism. We are at a crucial turning point in our country’s history – do we truly want free markets, or does cronyism remain in place? Do we want the rule of law, or will amnesty for cheap illegal labor win the day?

In my campaign, I heard over and over from my constituents that they don’t feel Washington is working for them. They feel like they are always on the losing end of most every deal struck inside the beltway – that somehow the ordinary working man and woman keep drawing the short straw. And year after year, government gets bigger, the debt swells, and the bureaucracy engulfs the citizen a little bit more.

* THEY FEEL THIS WAY BECAUSE IT'S TRUE!

The scope of the problem is in the trillions, but the solutions offered so far have only been in the billions – not even scratching the surface of what needs to be done to get this country back on track.

The people hope for a Republican leader to step forward and help fellow members fight on these issues – and for the very future of America.

A New Speaker is a Step in the Right Direction

By Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY)

*  *  *  *  *

Washington is broken, and the public knows it. Many have attributed our government’s dysfunction to factors such as campaign financing, gerrymandering, lack of transparency, career politicians, disregard for the Constitution and hyper-partisanship.

I concede all of these contribute to the problem. But after coming to Washington, I discovered a bigger, less obvious source of congressional dysfunction. The House of Representatives has devolved into a theatrical stage for congressmen to perform for their constituents, while most legislative power is vested within the office of speaker.

To understand the power that today’s speaker wields requires understanding how the House works. All legislation ostensibly passes through committees. The chair of each committee should in theory have the authority to make decisions regarding which bills will pass through his committee and receive a vote on the House floor.

However, pursuant to current House rules and procedures, the speaker is the sole and final authority regarding who becomes the chair of each committee, and which bills are allowed to be voted on by the full House. If a chairman refuses to conform to the speaker’s wishes, the speaker has the power to bypass that committee completely.

Our country deserves an orderly legislative process. However, the 113th Congress frequently followed anything but an orderly process. Witness the recent CR/Omnibus: This 1603-page bill was written behind closed doors, introduced two days before the vote with little time for debate, and contained numerous legislative riders irrelevant to the funding of the government. It was the speaker’s decision to create a fiscal crisis on the last legislative day before Christmas vacation.

This irresponsible brinksmanship was designed to give congressmen a choice between spending their Christmas vacation in D.C. or rubber-stamping the legislation without reading it. Those members who voted for the bill have aptly defended their vote, but I know of none who will strain their credibility by defending the process the speaker employed to pass it.

Numerous but less publicized examples of legislative malpractice exist. For instance, on March 27, 2014, our leadership suspected it did not have support to pass an unfunded $10 billion Medicare spending bill. After delaying the scheduled vote twice that morning, they told members the House was in recess. Then, after members dispersed to their offices, in the course of less than 53 seconds, our leadership gaveled the House back in session and passed the bill on a voice vote with less than a dozen members present. Nearly every member of Congress resents this abuse of the speaker’s power and none will defend it.

So why would 434 members perpetuate this centralized autocratic rule when they have the constitutional power to choose a new speaker Tuesday? Because for many members, this choice is an illusion. Voting against the speaker means jeopardizing your committee assignments, your fundraising opportunities, and literally your political career. Critics may call my vote unwise for these reasons, but I challenge them instead to defend the undemocratic manner in which the speaker has moved legislation through the House of Representatives.

Rather than defend their own vote for the current speaker, some will choose to spread misinformation about my vote. It is untrue that a vote for anyone other than the current speaker will cause Rep. Nancy Pelosi to be elected. To become speaker of the House, one must receive a majority rather than a plurality of the votes cast for candidates.

I will vote for a speaker who can articulate a constitutional vision for America and facilitate an inclusive and orderly legislative process that allows Congress to truly reflect the will of the people.

* MY FRIENDS... THIS MAN - CONGRESSMAN MASSIE, REPRESENTING THE FOURTH DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY -  IS A TRUE AMERICAN HERO FOR PUBLICLY LAYING IT ON THE LINE AS HE HAS.

* ANY MEMBER OF THE HOUSE... CONGRESSMAN... CONGRESSWOMAN... WHO VOTES TO RE-ELECT JOHN BOEHNER AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE SHOWS THEIR TRUE COLORS IN A SINGLE VOTE AS NO OTHER VOTE COULD SO UNMASK THEM.

* I PRAY TO GOD MASSIE'S WORDS WILL BE HEEDED BY HIS COLLEAGUES, BUT IF NOT... REMEMBER... THIS ONE, SINGLE UPCOMING VOTE WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL CASTING IT.

Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., Jan. 3 & 4, 2015

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry New Year...! Merry New Year...!

2015...??? As in... TWENTY-FIFTEEN...?!?! Are you friggin' KIDDING me...?!?!

Where's my flying car - or at least my personal jet-pack?

Where the HELL is our Moon Base...?!?!

Folks... I gotta tell ya... not to be a wet blanket, but so far... the 21st Century pretty much SUCKS...

Young Bill Barker in 1982... 20 years old... a proud American with EVERY REASON to be proud!

Middle-aged Bill Barker today... 52 years old... NOT so friggin' proud. (Kinda disgusted actually...) (Yeah... MOSTLY disgusted...)

Is life all that bad? No! Hey... just because back then I could buy a bottle of Macallan 18 for roughly eight hours "kid's" pay while today it'll cost me around $200 doesn't mean I'm poor! (No... it simple means MOST of us are poorer - relatively - certainly poorer than we though we'd be.)

(No... not YOU my friend whose name dare not be mentioned... BUT... REMEMBER... it was I who predicted you'd end up "rich"; for years you insisted you'd never break six-figures!)

No... seriously... I have a good life and so do most of my friends and relatives. My "personal" complaints are few. But the country has gone to hell!

Don't believe me...? Fine. I'll keep on posting newsbites and stand-alone essays... you folks make of them what you will.

Hell... assuming that I make it into my 80's - or better - I'LL be fascinated to go back to my earliest newsbites and essays to see whether I was overly pessimistic - or perhaps not pessimistic enough!

(*GUFFAW*)

Anyway... let's hope - and PRAY - for better times to come...!