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Massie Implicated In Plot Against House Leadership

Thomas Massie who continues to push a Ron Paul type unorthodox agenda in Congress has now been implicated in a plot against House leadership.  According to a report in the National Journal, a small band of House members is "scheming to infiltrate the GOP leadership next year".

While intra-House battles are usually not made so public this one is expected to erupt into a breakdown of the conservative coalition which the GOP represents as a bulwark against liberal policies.

The masterminds of this mutiny are trying to stay in the shadows for as long as possible to avoid putting a target on their backs. But one Republican said the "nucleus"of the rebellion can be found inside the House Liberty Caucus, of which he and his comrades are members. This is not surprising, considering that some of the key players in that group—Justin Amash of Michigan, Raul Labrador of Idaho, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky—were among the 12 Republicans who refused to back Boehner's reelection in January 2013.

Boehner isn't the only target. The conservatives find fault with the entire leadership team. [National Journal]

TEA Party Liberals To Face Battles On Multiple Fronts In 2014

Ron Paul lovers take credit for the TEA party movement based upon a 2007 money bomb event on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.  Those involved in the modern larger TEA party movement deny Paul's paternity and say that they began Feb. 19, 2009 when CNBC’s Rick Santelli gave what is now known as the “rant heard around the world".

But there can be no doubt that between 2007 and 2009 there was nothing like the modern day TEA party movement anywhere on the radar screens of current events.  Today however things are much different.

Those who got there feet wet in politics as a part of the new and larger TEA party for the most part got involved due to the crashing economy, anger over the government bailouts and in reaction to many of the worrisome ideas being advanced by Barack Obama.  Over time the Ron Paul folks, the Libertarians, the anarchists and smart democrats changed the dynamics of the TEA party to their own ends.

What was once considered to be a movement designed to move the GOP back to its fiscally conservative platform has morphed into a protest movement which seems more devoted to altruistic ideals than pragmatic solutions.  Fixing problems in a real world sense is far less appealing to the TEA party than crashing the system entirely by removing anybody with any experience under the banner that everybody except their candidates are corrupt.

Straying from their original goal of being more conservative republicans into being the party of disruption has caused them to face a number of new challenges in 2014.

The US Chamber of Commerce and the business community in general have joined forces and declared war on the TEA party.

Now it appears that the social conservatives are about to gear up in the battle for the heart and soul of the GOP.

It shouldn't be assumed that the second front in the battle for republican votes will be fought alone by the TEA party.  Granted it has become more of a de-facto Libertarian organization when it comes to social issues, but Social Conservatives led by groups like The American Principles Project, Gary Bauer’s American Values outfit, James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, Americans United for Life, the Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage are now plotting to raise and spend mega-millions to move the GOP back on the track it took during the Bush years. [POLITICO]

How will this new dynamic affect TEA party efforts?  It may be too soon to tell, but the libertarian influences in the direction the movement has taken could prove problematic in the face of pressure from social conservatives.

For example, the idea that abortion should be a state's right to decide sounds a lot like the argument that abortion should be a woman's right to decide, a position which social conservatives will likely find unacceptable.

And neither is the Ron Paul position on prostitution and legalizing drugs likely to set well with the Family Values folks.

What might this battle on two fronts do to the TEA party movement?

On one hand the fiscal conservatives could take charge and return the movement to its original position making it a representative group for the "cut taxes, cut spending" republican ideology.

On the other hand, the Ron Paul libertarians might already have taken such control of the movement that it will have no choice but to act solely as a spoiler, unwittingly helping democrats and along the way losing members who don't want anymore democratic votes controlling the House and Senate agendas.

Or there could be a rising wave of libertarian thought in the nation that, through the TEA party, could change the direction of the country and cause tremendous social upheaval, much like the protests of the sixties did which of course were followed by years of liberal governments and devastating international blunders.

But one thing is clear.  The liberals in the TEA party movement will face a very big hurdle this year fighting their battles on multiple fronts in 2014.

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Has TEA Party Won The Battle Of Ideas In Washington?

Told Jah: TEA Party Leader Avowed Democrat

Social conservatives' big money plans

Has TEA Party Won The Battle Of Ideas In Washington?

POLITICO has a piece up on top of its website today that starts like this:

If this was a dud year in Washington, get ready for 2014 — the year to “go small.”

Lawmakers had already lost their appetite to “go big” this year, letting reforms of immigration, guns and the Tax Code slip away in the face of gridlock and dysfunction.

And now there’s a new problem. Lawmakers are reluctant to rely on the federal government to get anything done — a guilt-by-association consequence of Obamacare’s botched rollout. Republicans have called it an indictment of more than a website, but of Big Government itself.

While Democrats argue the problem is obstructionism — not ideology — the result will be the same: As Washington laments the end of a do-nothing year, lawmakers are fully prepared to do as little — or even less — in the new year.

“I think anything that has a significant expansion or role for the federal government is going to be problematic,” South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a top Republican message strategist, told POLITICO. “Because I just think there’s going to be such a cynicism and skepticism attached to any promises made with regard to the federal government’s role.”

Ron Paul, the Grand Poobah of the smaller is better ideology has been saying that the Republicans and Democrats are all the same, even saying on some occassions that they are all part of the same party.

Does this mean that his brand of governance which has usurped the TEA party movement has finally caught on?  The answer is no.

The reaction that POLITICO is predicting for 2014 is more a response to the ineffectiveness of the Obama administration and a growing uneasiness with what many used to dismiss, but now fear, are his nefarious plans for America.  In fact most of the anger and angst of the TEA party was born in reaction to Obama, has fed off of Obama's agenda and is still a reactionary movement rather than a pro-active one.

I saw this meme on Facebook sent out by a local TEA party group:

 

You have to ask yourself, what does this really say to people?  Is it some sort of rallying cry to keep the flames of discontent burning hotter than ever?

The phrase "More Constitution" means what exactly?  Lower taxes?  Taxes are undesirable no doubt, but they are certainly constitutional.  Does it mean more civil liberty?  We certainly have suffered in this area lately and numerous cases are working their way through the court system which ultimately decides, as the arbiter of these debates, what is and what is not constitutional.

How does this meme fit into the reality of political life?  What, no republican who wants more civil liberty and lower taxes can be trusted, and neither can any democrat?  Then who?  What other party is out there?  Aren't most of the TEA party candidates running as republicans?  And isn't it a fact that in places where they do, for the most part, they give democrats an added advantage of being able to run on their liberal agenda while republicans eat each other alive in primaries?

So just what does the observation of the POLITICO piece mean.  Has the TEA party won the battle of ideas in Washington?  Is there really some meaning to the concept of "More Constitution" that is controlling how elected officials act?

No, and no.

The fact is that even the proper role of government, as seen even by TEA party types, is considered dangerous territory.  Standing up in favor of building bridges and fixing roads, and repairing a half century or older infrastructure lights a match under the "big spender" accusers who have found a way, much like the protesters of the sixties did, to get attention in front of cameras and try to steer the policy of the nation.

Spend no money, collect no taxes, go to Washington, do nothing, dismantle the federal government, weaken our military, and withdraw into a kind of isolation that fools people into believing that the world will just leave us alone and allow us to prosper so long as we don't intervene in anybody else's business.

Foolhardy, reckless, ignorant thinking like this makes America vulnerable to the evil forces at work in the world.  If the worst happens it will be on the shoulders of those who failed to take charge in difficult times.  The blame will be squarely upon the heads of those who would give Israel over to the Palestinians, chemical weapons to Assad, control of Afghanistan to the drug cartels, who would remove border security and issue terms of engagement to our military that told them to stand up and take the first shot before firing back.

War is, as the saying goes, hell.  And hell is at our doorstep.  The last thing we need is a nation of bong hugging gamers driving the ship of state.

If the TEA party really wishes for an America that used to be, maybe they ought to be asking things like, where are the real men, the John Wayne's of our time, instead of asking that old time policy be implement by a bunch of impotent 'fraidy cats. 

Think about it.  America was strong, and stood up for itself in the days the Ron Paul folks wish they could return us to.  To get there might take a much tougher, rougher approach than the rally attending, flag-shirt wearing, malcontents and protesters can deliver on their own.

If a do nothing Congress is the result of a TEA party victory, then I think Merle might have asked the right question a long time ago: Are the good times really over for good?

 

Paper Chronicles Widespread Dislike For Massie

When Thomas Massie from Vanceburg ran for Congress in 2012 people thought he stood no chance.  He surprised everybody and won.  Since then people from the Fourth District have been watching to see if he would turn out to be the kind of Congressman we had come to expect.  He didn't and now a challenge is likely.

In an article printed in the Kentucky Enquirer it was reported that Steve Stevens, former head of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is exploring a run against Massie and that this announcement brought a standing ovation from Northern Kentucky Business Leaders.

The people of this district have enjoyed a very close relationship with their congressmen.  Jim Bunning was a hand's on kind of guy who took constituent services to very high level.  He was engaged in the community, visible, approachable and though pegged as a tough guy, he and his staff were beloved fixtures showing up everywhere and interested in serving people.

Massie on the other hand remains a virtual stranger to most people except the small group of core TEA party folks that support him.  He isn't a regular at local high school football games, doesn't mingle with the community, has basically ignored the business leaders and local leaders in pursuit of a private agenda pushed by the Ron Paul nay sayers in Congress.

His only appeal is to those people so fed up with government that they see Massie as their personal protester.

But serving the community isn't on Massie's list of things to do.  Instead of representing the district, he represents an oddball ideology which is clearly out of step with the majority of the hard working families in the Northern part of the Commonwealth.

Even Geoff Davis, who began his tenure as a bit of a stranger, knew better than to ignore the people of his distict.  He came to know the leaders that the people had chosen to represent them at the city and county and district level, he worked closely with business leaders and took a very strong conservative stand on the issues of greatest importance to his constituents.

But Massie by contrast spent his first few hours in the new Congress making enemies with leadership.  His sole vote for Justin Amash to be Speaker of The House was out of step with every single other republican in Washington.  But that vote was more than a vow of loyalty to the Ron Paul revolution, it was a slap in the face to the people of the Fourth District.

Not only is a new interstate bridge across the Ohio river a much needed upgrade to our nation's infrastructure, but it would bring millions if not billions of dollars in economic benefit to our community.  Construction and supply businesses would prosper, jobs would be created and a new sense of hopefulness would rise with the bridge structure itself.

In addition, the bridge would connect the Fourth District with Cincinnati, the home of the current Speaker of The House, John Boehner.  Massie's day one slap in the face to the established leadership in the House ruined any chance that he might have had to be effective, though it is doubtful that was ever part of Massie's plan.

Massie is so white hot devoted to his fringe ideology that he blew any chance of getting Boehner to support the bridge project and cast himself in the role of perpetual loser in the world of Washington political contests.  Like it or not, Washington is about politics and politics is a contest of power where those in power use their status to reward friends and punish enemies.  Massie's votes have made the people of this district the enemy so long as they vote to keep him in office.

The only hope for our district to get back on track is to make it clear that we acknowledge our mistake and find a speedy way to correct it.

Is Steve Stevens the right choice?  I don't know yet, but one thing is clear, we need to end the error.

NSA Could Destroy Democrat Chances

EDITORIAL

Statistics show that young voters make up only a small percentage of the overall vote totals but they are an important part of the picture nonetheless.  Why? Because winning their loyalty has been, historically, the way to keep them in the fold until they get old enough to feel like voting.

Democrats won the youth voters in the 1960's and kept most of them.  Ron Paul began his revolution on college campuses where "Google Ron Paul" was a brilliant strategy aimed at capturing the loyalty of what has become the core activists and young elected officials coming out of the TEA party who are now in their 30's.

What did both of these movements among young people have in common?  Freedom from the government.

In the 1960's it was all about ending the war, free love, pot smoking and a general desire to have no rules.  The Ron Paul movement tracked very similar to these things.

But now with daily news of an even bigger Big Brother spying on the text messages, cell phone conversations and emails of American citizens on a staggering scale, the idea of government intrusion into private lives has taken on a far more menacing visage, and in most of these areas that intrusion is touching young people where they meet, socialize and communicate.

It would be a very good idea for the GOP, including mainstream republicans, to ride that bull and not get thrown.  If there is any one area where the GOP can take the lead and get on board with the angst of the next generation of likely voters, it would be a dedicated effort to end government snooping.

Obama can't pull it off and neither can Hillary.  Their fingerprints are all over this mess.

Of course the Bush administration started the ball rolling after 9-11 with the Patriot Act, and as many of us predicted, it has been perverted from its original intent (to catch terrorists BEFORE they acted) into a runaway vehicle indiscriminately mowing down civil liberties all across the nation.

Rand Paul is on the forefront and this might be his best single message at this time.  Others in the TEA party are on top of this issue but as usual the mainstream GOP is a little late to the game.

If the GOP wants to regain its status as the party of smaller government, more individual responsibility and the defender of liberty, then now is the time to grab this issue and claim it.

The NSA problem spells disaster for the democrats in the long run.  Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country, and all good republicans to stand up for liberty.

Told Jah: TEA Party Leader Avowed Democrat

I've been trying to tell you for a long time now that the TEA party movement has been co-opted by those who see it as a vehicle by which to weaken the republican party and in turn eliminate the effective check on an otherwise runaway progressive shift in this nation.  If you read this blog, this should be no surprise:

A prominent Kentucky Tea Party leader [Wendy Caswell] who endorsed the Republican primary challenger to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is a registered Democrat who signed a pledge to support Democratic policies and principles while running for state representative in 2012.

While Caswell reportedly founded the Louisville Tea Party in 2009 and currently serves as its leader, public records raise questions about her political affiliations and recent intervention in the GOP primary.

Caswell is a registered Democrat, according to Kentucky State Board of Elections records. She ran as a Democrat in 2012 for state representative in the 42nd district, but lost the primary race.

“I, Wendy Caswell, do solemnly swear … that I am a registered Democrat voter in M121 precinct,” wrote Caswell in a handwritten Feb. 9, 2012 campaign filing, obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

“I believe in the principles of the Democratic Party, and intend to support its principles and policies,” the pledge continued. [Free Beacon]

Well, you might say, not all of the TEA party folks are infiltrators and saboteurs, and you would be right, but take a look at what TEA party leader John Kemper has to say about this shocking revelation:

And of course since there has been a dedicated effort by some, including Judge Napolitano who spoke in Boone County last week, to use the TEA party as a way to advance the libertarian agenda of those like Ron Paul, look what Libertarian Ken Moellman had to say about the article which exposed Ms. Caswell as a devoted democrat:

Wendy Caswell is a truly committed activist?  Well then, her sworn oath to support the Democrat party must be a really important expression of her loyalty and wouldn't her activism on its behalf be well served by supporting an opponent of the strongest republican leader in the nation, particularly if she could do it wearing the uniform of a "trusted conservative" ?

Again, I am certain that many people who are involved in the TEA party are very dedicated conservatives but they are being played by others.  Their desire to make the GOP more conservative should inspire them to support the GOP and work within it, not against it.

I've been warning you about such things for a long time now.  Be careful who is stirring your TEA.

Congratulations Libertarians For Electing Another Far Left Democrat

Congratulations goes out to the Virginia Libertarians who stood up to their mentor Ron Paul and refused to vote for the republican candidate, on principle of course, and thereby helped elect the far left, gun grabbing, big government democrat Terry McAuliffe governor.  You've done it again and are no doubt proud.

 

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What Would The TEA Party Say About Women's Rights?

We are constantly being told that the GOP is struggling to win votes among American women.  This suggests that the democrats have a better reputation among women voters for women's rights.  Now we hear of a shocking answer by Secretary of State John Kerry to a female reporters question on his trip to Saudi Arabia.

Following recent news of a Kuwait woman being arrested for driving her ill father to the hospital, in violation of the law there that prohibits women from driving cars, a reporter asked Kerry where he stood on the issue of the Saudis having the same rules in the larger context of women's rights.  Here was Kerry's response:

“It’s no secret that in the United States of America we embrace equality for everybody . . . [but] it’s up to Saudi Arabia to make its own decisions about its own social structure.”

As one commentator pointed out:

[T]he response was immediately noted by civil libertarians as coming off as remarkably relativistic and restrained. Yet these responses are clearly scripted on diplomatic trips. Women’s rights is not a question of “social structure.” That is how the Saudis view it. It is their religion and social structure that is cited for the medieval treatment of women. Equality is a human right that by definition transcends “social structures” and national preferences. Otherwise, racial and religious discrimination would be simply a matter of cultural tastes. [Turley]

I want you to re-read that again.  It was "civil-libertarians" who objected.  Aren't the "civil-libertarians" a big part of the TEA party?  And isn't the Ron Paul influenced TEA party decidedly "non-interventionist" when it comes to foreign policy?

So why would civil libertarians feel entitled to even comment on how another country treats its women?  Moreover, let's not forget that this is a democrat Secretary of State presumably representing our democrat president.  So tell me now, how is it that the democrats can claim the "women's vote" and the civil libertarins can complain like toothless dogs on a short heavy chain barking with no chance of biting, but the GOP with its strong record of standing up for women's rights is the party that has problems winning the women's vote?

Oh, yeah, I forgot.  The GOP thinks the government shouldn't pay to have baby girls suctioned apart or burned alive with chemicals or pulled out of the womb and stabbed in the brain.  It's all about that abortion thing isn't it?  You know, the FIRST civil right, the "right to life".

Libertarian Amash Draws Primary Challenge

Justin Amash the libertarian from Michigan who has been called a disruptive force in the U.S. Congress will be challenged by a Michigan businessman in a republican primary.  Amash, one of the soldiers in Ron Paul's "Revolution" only had $164,000 cash on hand when he called upon his supporters to help boost his balance at the end of the third quarter reporting period.

Brian Ellis, who will challenge Amash came out swinging.

In his announcement, Ellis hit Amash on a number of votes in Congress, including twice voting “present” on a bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood, also voting “present” instead of supporting the Keystone XL pipeline and voting against the House budget.

“I will advance conservative solutions by voting to balance the budget, reduce the tax burden, expand American energy sources, and defend the right to life and our Constitution,” Ellis said in a statement. [POLITICO]

Massie Proud Of Ron Paul's Ineffectiveness

In a recent speech given to the Young Americans For Liberty Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie informed the audience how plum committee assignments are made.  As every Congressman knows the party in power gets to control the committees and their agendas and no bills from the minority really ever make it.

Because getting power, holding power and keeping power as the majority is so important to getting things done each member of the majority party is expected to help raise money for their party to help keep it in power.  Those who do the most, get advanced onto better committee positions and thus end up with more power themselves, not only to control the agenda but to influence others in the chamber to think their way.

Massie recounted for his audience how his early arrival to Congress to fill the unexpired term of retiring Geoff Davis allowed him the rare opportunity to serve with Ron Paul.  He told the audience that during one closed door session he was able to see the amount of money Ron Paul had raised for the party.  It was zero, none, nada.  Massie got a huge ovation for what the audience must have felt was a bold statement by their hero Ron Paul.

This incident underscores the substantial disconnect between the new TEA party folks and reality.

Ron Paul served in Congress for decades and got only one bill passed.  In otherwords, he was totally ineffective as a legislator, spent most of his time generating attention for himself and building an empire of publications, organizations and movements behind him all determined to upset the process by which things get done.

Massie's idol worship of Ron Paul suggests that his plans for the future will go down much the same path.

It is a fact, a reality, that the rules of politics are that the majority party controls.  All the foot stomping, teeth gnashing and tantrum throwing in the world will not change that system because it is based soundly in principles of democracy.  The squeakiest wheel doesn't run things, the majority does.

What the "new guys" needed to do when they got to Washington was look around, figure out how to gain power and then set about trying to get power first, elevating themselves to a position where they could affect things and then make the changes they want.  Celebrating the dogged refusal of Ron Paul to raise money to help keep his own party in control of Congress is the celebration of protest, not conquest.

Some how or another this new crop of elected officials are proud of being ineffective at anything except getting attention for themselves.  What a mess.