Walmart Thanks Our Troops

I am not a Walmart shopper.  I have real issues with their policies.  But, I give them kudos on this.  Thanks to all who are serving and will be away from their families this holiday season.

Speaker Boehner Won Tonight

There seems to be some consternation on the deal made between Speaker Boehner, Reid and President Obama.  Many on the right seem to be unhappy about this and are saying that Boehner caved.  Really?  I don't think so. 

While the cuts were less than the right was hoping for, there is great deal to be happy about with this deal. 

There will be an up or down vote on appealing Obamacare on the Senate floor.  23 dem senators are up for re-election next year.  Some of those come from states that are very much against Obamacare.  Clare McCaskill, Ben Nelson, and Joe Manchin just to name three.  They will have to go on the record with a vote.  During his campaign, Manchin repeatedly said he was against Obamacare on the federal level.  He will now have to put his money where is mouth is.  Missouri voted in the last election against mandates and McCaskill has since admitted that the bill needs to be improved.  We all remember what an uproar Nelson caused with his vote for Obamacare.  I am sure none of these people are happy to find out that they are going to have to make this vote.  If they vote yes, they lose their base, if they vote no they lose the independents.  It is a no win vote for them and great fundraising material for their opponents. 

The additional IRS agents that were to be hired to implement Obamacare have been defunded.  This is huge win for the right. 

No public funds for abortion in D.C. 

An up or down vote for funding of Planned Parenthood on the senate floor.  Again, no chance of becoming law, but it will get them on the record. 

The reality is that polls were moving towards the dems favor, almost 40% of the country would have blamed the GOP for the shutdown.  The left was winning the argument when it was framed that they were holding out over funding for Planned Parenthood.  While the majority of the country is now Pro-life they still feel that abortion shouldn't not be illegal.  They are personally against abortion.  People did not want to see the military not getting paid over a very small amount of money in the federal budget that goes to organization that many people do believe offer more services than abortion. 

The GOP has the wiggle room to allow many of the tea party members to vote nay and it still pass comfortably.  Which will help Boehner keep the caucus together. 

The press today coming from the left was full of vitriol with all the comments:

“This is probably one of the worst times we’ve seen because the numbers of people elected to Congress. I went through this as co-chair of the arts caucus,” Slaughter said. “In ’94 people were elected simply to come here to kill the National Endowment for the Arts. Now they’re here to kill women.”



“There is actually a war on women,” the California Democrat said Thursday in Washington, taking aim at House Republicans’ efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and restrict access to abortions, among other measures.



We are absolutely outraged. This is the functional equivalent of bombing innocent civilians,” she said.

“It’s time that the District of Columbia told the Congress to go straight to hell!”

Thank you Speaker Boehner.  You did your job and set the groundwork for the real battles; the debt ceiling and the 12 budget. 
 
Read more here.

No Press Requested - President and Mrs. Bush Greet Troops at Homecoming

President Bush has continued his full support of our troops.  When he was President, he and Laura would go and visit wounded troops at Walter Reed without any press.  He did this because he didn't want to politicize the suffering of our troops and our families.  He is continuing that tradition even though he has been out of office for almost two years.  Yesterday he and Laura showed up DFW airport to say thank you to troops who have just recently came home from deployment from both Iraq and Afghanistan. 

There are many things about President Bush that I didn't like, but he always showed class.

H/T Joel on Facebook

Additional Photos

Look at that beautiful baby!!

Thanks for helping with the emails

Apparently people have not only been reading my blog, but have been taking some of the info to heart and acting on it. Here is an article on Politico about my little blog.

Pattie - Thanks so much for pointing this article out to me.

WE CAN'T STOP NOW - KEEP THEM COMING, WE ARE MAKING AN IMPACT


July 23, 2009Categories: Health Care

Spam tsunami hits Dem chiefs of staff

An anti-health care reform Web site has published the names of moderate Democratic chiefs of staff in the House -- spawning a Spam tsunami inundating inboxes with more than 500 emails since Wednesday, according to aides.

Energized by Nancy Pelosi's claim she had the votes to pass health care reform,blogger "just a conservative girl" penned a "Dear Fellow Patriot" letter to readers asking them if they could "please [be] joining us in emailing the Chiefs of Staff of the following moderate to conservative Democrats?"

She then published the names and emails of 55.

"I've been dealing with these since yesterday... it's clogging my inbox," said one chief of staff, less peeved than amused.

The emails range from ALLCAPS:

PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS DISASTROUS "HEALTHCARE REFORM" BILL. PLEASE DO NOT DESTROY THE VERY FABRIC OF THIS COUNTRY.PLEASE DO NOT BE MANIPULATED INTO SELLING ITS CITIZENS OUT FOR A SOCIALIST AGENDA.PLEASE DO NOT FORCE AMERICANS TO BECOME ENSLAVED AND IMPOVERISHEDPLEASE- PLEASE PLEASELISTEN TO THE CITIZENS WHO WORK TO PAY YOUR SALARY. NOT THE ONES WHO REFUSE TO WORK.

To the partisan:

PS - Ask your congressperson to remind the President that the financial problems we have are not just those of the former President. I seem to recall that for the 2 years prior to the current President, we had a democratic majority in both house of congress.
To the politely persistent:

Being the Chief of Staff for a Congressional Representative is a thankless job. In this position, you clearly have the ability to lean on your Representative to vote in-line with what the American people need and want.