Chris Adamo
Boehner's amnesty fixation undermines GOP momentum
By Chris Adamo
As the 2014 mid-term congressional elections loom, Democrats are indeed feeling gloomy. Their fanciful notion of retaking the House of Representatives, so gleefully pondered in the aftermath of Barack Obama's 2012 reelection, is hardly mentioned anymore. Worse yet, some dire predictions of this fall's outcome even include the prospect of Republicans gaining a majority in the Senate. The continually faltering economy (it is a stretch to honestly characterize anything that has occurred since 2009 as a "recovery"), combined with the nation's collapsing international standing and a growing awareness that the worst repercussions of Obamacare are still yet to come, could set the stage for a blowout at the ballot box exceeding any in history.
Nevertheless, Democrats indeed have a chance to escape what they rightly anticipate as a brutal drubbing on Election Day. Once again, the Republican "leadership," particularly in the House, is poised to ride to their rescue. And to nobody's great surprise, House Speaker John Boehner (R.-OH) is leading the way. Were it not for this regular GOP treachery, the nation might truly be setting a course away from the disasters of the Obama regime, and the nightmares of liberal statism. However, it has become painfully obvious that the Republican "Establishment" has no such intentions, and is indeed determined to undermine and eliminate any within their ranks who remain truly committed to conservative principle.
At a May 13 gathering sponsored by the San Antonio Texas Chamber of Commerce, Boehner revealed his intentions to implement amnesty for the likely thirty million illegal aliens currently residing in America. Of course he would never call it "amnesty," but once again promoted the concept under a variety of other platitudes, including "border security," which carries as much credibility as congressional promises to "cut spending." When considered as a whole, the end result would indeed be amnesty.
In the past, Boehner has sought on the one hand to pressure conservative stalwarts in the Congress into capitulating on the issue. Yet when they refused to do so, he attempted to shift the blame to the Obama Administration, asserting that among the Republicans in Congress "There's widespread doubt about whether or not this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws." He reiterated this contention as recently as April 29. What he fails to recognize is that among the American people, widespread doubt about his own integrity is rampant and growing.
Later in his San Antonio speech, Boehner explained that he is encouraging former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to run for president in 2016. Though immensely popular with Washington insiders and the class of political "experts" who gave us John McCain and Mitt Romney, everyone in "flyover" country knows full well that a Jeb Bush candidacy would be almost as big of a disaster as a Jeb Bush presidency (were that even possible). With America in such dire straits, both domestically and abroad, the last thing people of the Heartland are inclined to support is another establishment "rubber stamp" named Bush. And as if on cue addressed the issue at a Manhattan Institute gathering the next day, musing that opposition to amnesty "makes no sense to me." Is it any wonder that grassroots conservatives have a less than stellar regard for the Speaker or his political "insights"?
Nor should the venue from which Boehner made his own pronouncements be ignored. It was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that pumped enormous sums of money into Boehner's reelection bid in Ohio District Eight where he faced opposition from the Tea Party. So of course he is beholden to the organization that helped him win. And every past indication is that the Chamber will focus almost solely on immigration "reform," which is euphemistic code for amnesty. On Monday of the same week, Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue warned "If Republicans don't do it, they shouldn't bother to run a candidate in 2016." Clearly, he and his organization have attached a dollar value to America's future.
It is appalling to consider how Republicans are not only willing to squander the distinct electoral advantage they could enjoy were they steadfastly on the right side of the immigration issue, but also how they are actually aiding and abetting the Obama agenda by waffling and ultimately selling America out in the process. Only this week, Barack Obama offered his own set of empty platitudes in support of amnesty, including his phony contention that it would somehow miraculously enhance America's "safety and security." But while he and Boehner continue their efforts to repackage the matter in terms that might gain a broader appeal, those who comprehend its implications to the national interest remain unshakably opposed to it.
In typical fashion, Obama seeks to stir emotions among Americans with his standard appeal to "fairness," lamenting that "Our system is not fair to workers, is not fair to businesses, and is not fair to law enforcement officials." Of course his "solution" to this problem, like his "solutions" to all of the other difficulties facing America, would only increase the hardship on those sectors of the population he claims to be trying to help, along with the rest of the American people who would suffer the consequences of thirty million new Democrat voters flooding the election rolls.
So, in the midst of the mid-term election cycle, when Republicans are in the perfect position to be successfully contrasting themselves against the unbroken line of abject failure that is the Democrat agenda, why would they instead be pursuing a course that can only undermine their own electoral fortunes? Could it be that the real goal of the GOP Establishment is to preserve the political status quo, while creating enough of a phony veneer of conservatism to rally a sufficient portion of the base to maintain the perks of numerical dominance in the Congress?
Real conservatives are regularly mocked and scorned by a liberal media that despises every principle of traditional America for which they stand. In like manner, they have been receiving a significant amount of mockery and scorn from Boehner. If this is the intended image of the "new Congress" that would result from a Republican "victory" in November, on what basis do party insiders expect to generate enough enthusiasm among the voters to inspire them to go to the ballot box?
While conservatives have no illusions of expecting intellectual honesty or forthrightness from the Democrat party or its parakeets hosting the nightly news, they have long sought to present a united front of opposition to the left through the vehicle of the Republican Party. With each new pronouncement from party "leadership" that the plan is to accommodate the goals and practices of the left, the wind departs from conservative sails. To the degree that Democrats are able to prevail in November, "Republican" duplicity will be the culprit.
© Chris Adamo
May 16, 2014
As the 2014 mid-term congressional elections loom, Democrats are indeed feeling gloomy. Their fanciful notion of retaking the House of Representatives, so gleefully pondered in the aftermath of Barack Obama's 2012 reelection, is hardly mentioned anymore. Worse yet, some dire predictions of this fall's outcome even include the prospect of Republicans gaining a majority in the Senate. The continually faltering economy (it is a stretch to honestly characterize anything that has occurred since 2009 as a "recovery"), combined with the nation's collapsing international standing and a growing awareness that the worst repercussions of Obamacare are still yet to come, could set the stage for a blowout at the ballot box exceeding any in history.
Nevertheless, Democrats indeed have a chance to escape what they rightly anticipate as a brutal drubbing on Election Day. Once again, the Republican "leadership," particularly in the House, is poised to ride to their rescue. And to nobody's great surprise, House Speaker John Boehner (R.-OH) is leading the way. Were it not for this regular GOP treachery, the nation might truly be setting a course away from the disasters of the Obama regime, and the nightmares of liberal statism. However, it has become painfully obvious that the Republican "Establishment" has no such intentions, and is indeed determined to undermine and eliminate any within their ranks who remain truly committed to conservative principle.
At a May 13 gathering sponsored by the San Antonio Texas Chamber of Commerce, Boehner revealed his intentions to implement amnesty for the likely thirty million illegal aliens currently residing in America. Of course he would never call it "amnesty," but once again promoted the concept under a variety of other platitudes, including "border security," which carries as much credibility as congressional promises to "cut spending." When considered as a whole, the end result would indeed be amnesty.
In the past, Boehner has sought on the one hand to pressure conservative stalwarts in the Congress into capitulating on the issue. Yet when they refused to do so, he attempted to shift the blame to the Obama Administration, asserting that among the Republicans in Congress "There's widespread doubt about whether or not this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws." He reiterated this contention as recently as April 29. What he fails to recognize is that among the American people, widespread doubt about his own integrity is rampant and growing.
Later in his San Antonio speech, Boehner explained that he is encouraging former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to run for president in 2016. Though immensely popular with Washington insiders and the class of political "experts" who gave us John McCain and Mitt Romney, everyone in "flyover" country knows full well that a Jeb Bush candidacy would be almost as big of a disaster as a Jeb Bush presidency (were that even possible). With America in such dire straits, both domestically and abroad, the last thing people of the Heartland are inclined to support is another establishment "rubber stamp" named Bush. And as if on cue addressed the issue at a Manhattan Institute gathering the next day, musing that opposition to amnesty "makes no sense to me." Is it any wonder that grassroots conservatives have a less than stellar regard for the Speaker or his political "insights"?
Nor should the venue from which Boehner made his own pronouncements be ignored. It was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that pumped enormous sums of money into Boehner's reelection bid in Ohio District Eight where he faced opposition from the Tea Party. So of course he is beholden to the organization that helped him win. And every past indication is that the Chamber will focus almost solely on immigration "reform," which is euphemistic code for amnesty. On Monday of the same week, Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue warned "If Republicans don't do it, they shouldn't bother to run a candidate in 2016." Clearly, he and his organization have attached a dollar value to America's future.
It is appalling to consider how Republicans are not only willing to squander the distinct electoral advantage they could enjoy were they steadfastly on the right side of the immigration issue, but also how they are actually aiding and abetting the Obama agenda by waffling and ultimately selling America out in the process. Only this week, Barack Obama offered his own set of empty platitudes in support of amnesty, including his phony contention that it would somehow miraculously enhance America's "safety and security." But while he and Boehner continue their efforts to repackage the matter in terms that might gain a broader appeal, those who comprehend its implications to the national interest remain unshakably opposed to it.
In typical fashion, Obama seeks to stir emotions among Americans with his standard appeal to "fairness," lamenting that "Our system is not fair to workers, is not fair to businesses, and is not fair to law enforcement officials." Of course his "solution" to this problem, like his "solutions" to all of the other difficulties facing America, would only increase the hardship on those sectors of the population he claims to be trying to help, along with the rest of the American people who would suffer the consequences of thirty million new Democrat voters flooding the election rolls.
So, in the midst of the mid-term election cycle, when Republicans are in the perfect position to be successfully contrasting themselves against the unbroken line of abject failure that is the Democrat agenda, why would they instead be pursuing a course that can only undermine their own electoral fortunes? Could it be that the real goal of the GOP Establishment is to preserve the political status quo, while creating enough of a phony veneer of conservatism to rally a sufficient portion of the base to maintain the perks of numerical dominance in the Congress?
Real conservatives are regularly mocked and scorned by a liberal media that despises every principle of traditional America for which they stand. In like manner, they have been receiving a significant amount of mockery and scorn from Boehner. If this is the intended image of the "new Congress" that would result from a Republican "victory" in November, on what basis do party insiders expect to generate enough enthusiasm among the voters to inspire them to go to the ballot box?
While conservatives have no illusions of expecting intellectual honesty or forthrightness from the Democrat party or its parakeets hosting the nightly news, they have long sought to present a united front of opposition to the left through the vehicle of the Republican Party. With each new pronouncement from party "leadership" that the plan is to accommodate the goals and practices of the left, the wind departs from conservative sails. To the degree that Democrats are able to prevail in November, "Republican" duplicity will be the culprit.
© Chris Adamo
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